Pine measuringworm moth
- French common name: Arpenteuse du pin
- Scientific name: Hypagyrtis piniata (Pack.)
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Class: Insecta
- Order: Lepidoptera
- Family: Geometridae
Distribution
- British Columbia
- New Brunswick
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- Nova Scotia
- Ontario
- Quebec
Damage, symptoms and biology
Hypagyrtis piniata is a common innocuous solitary defoliator.Mature larva to 27 mm long. Head, light brown with dark mottle. Body, light reddish brown; pale yellow diamond pattern on dorsum; black chevron on dorsum of each abdominal segment.
This species overwinters in the larval stage. Larvae resume feeding in spring and continue until June or July. Pupation occurs July to August, adults emerge July to August and lay eggs. Eggs hatch soon after and the larvae feed until early fall.
Canadian Forest Service Publications
Diet and feeding behaviour
-
Phyllophagous:
Feeds on the leaves of plants.
- Free-living defoliator: Feeds on and moves about freely on foliage.
Information on host(s)
The principal hosts of Hypagyrtis piniata are Douglas-fir, western hemlock, Engelmann spruce and white spruce; other hosts include western larch, tamarack, lodgepole pine, western white pine, ponderosa pine, western redcedar and subalpine fir.Main host(s)
- Balsam fir
- Black spruce
- Douglas-fir
- Eastern hemlock
- Eastern white pine
- Engelmann spruce
- Jack pine
- Lodgepole pine
- Red spruce
- Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir
- Tamarack
- Western hemlock
- Western larch
- Western redcedar
- Western white pine
- White spruce
Secondary host(s)
- Birch
- Eastern white-cedar
- European larch
- Hemlocks
- Larches / tamaracks
- Norway spruce
- Red maple
- Red pine
- Scots pine
- Subalpine fir
Photos
Larva
Jean-Paul Laplante
Robert W. Duncan Centre de foresterie du Pacifique, Victoria (Colombie-Britannique) / Pacific Forestry Centre, Victoria, British Columbia
Robert W. Duncan Centre de foresterie du Pacifique, Victoria (Colombie-Britannique) / Pacific Forestry Centre, Victoria, British Columbia
Robert W. Duncan Centre de foresterie du Pacifique, Victoria (Colombie-Britannique) / Pacific Forestry Centre, Victoria, British Columbia
Robert W. Duncan Centre de foresterie du Pacifique, Victoria (Colombie-Britannique) / Pacific Forestry Centre, Victoria, British Columbia