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Moths (Turf & Ornamental)
Latin Name: Mythimna unipuncta
Common Name: Armyworm
Other Names: The Armyworm, True armyworm
Pest Details
Origin:
This moth is native to southern North America, but now is found throughout North, Central , and South America as well as in southern Europe, central Africa, and western Asia.
Biology:
This moth does best in warm climates, and while it is present year-round in the southern U.S. it does not appear to survive winters in the northern regions, migrating northward during the spring and summer only. The final larva instar buries itself in the soil to pupate and in warm weather adult moths will emerge within 1 to 2 weeks. They mate and the female begins laying eggs within a few days, depositing the eggs in small clusters of up to 16 eggs, gluing them in rows on foliage. A single female is capable of producing hundreds of eggs. In summer months the larva completes development in about 3 weeks, and
Latin Name: Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis
Common Name: Bagworm
Other Names: Casemaker moth, Bag moth, Case moth
Pest Details
Origin:
This is a small family of native moths in North America.
Biology:
These odd and familiar insects are found throughout North America east of the Rocky Mountains. The larvae make characteristic cases in which they remain while feeding, dragging the case around with them on the plant. The case has various bits of small twigs, foliage, or other plant materials attached to it for structure and camouflage. When the larva is ready to pupate it attaches the case firmly to a twig or fence or some other solid material. The females or most species are without wings and may even remain within the case when they become the adult moth. Males seek them out, enter the case to mate, and the female then deposits her eggs within her case and dies. This species named here is one of the most
Latin Name: Spodoptera exigua
Common Name: Beet Armyworm
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Native to Southeast Asia but now found throughout most continents in warmer regions.
Biology:
This widespread and common moth is native to Southeast Asia, but was first found in the U.S. in Oregon in 1876, and now can be found nearly throughout the U.S. and Latin America as well as most other continents. It does not survive cold winters and survives the winters in the southern states, moving northward each year with warm weather. Despite its common name this moth’s larva feeds on a wide variety of agricultural crops, including tobacco, cotton, tomato, lettuce, and many others. Young larvae feed in clusters, often defoliating the leaves, and older larvae feed more solitary. Females lay eggs in masses of 50-150 eggs, and may lay up to 600 eggs per female. Complete development from egg to adult moth may be as short as 24 days, with up to 6
Latin Name: Agrotis ipsilon
Common Name: Black Cutworm
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Apparently native to North America, this species is now found throughout North and South America.
Biology:
The cutworms are given this name due to their habit of feeding at the base of young plants and then moving on to another, shearing off the plant as they do and causing greater damage to many plants. This does not occur until they reach their fourth instar, as younger larvae feed on the entire young plant. This species is damaging to a great many agricultural plants, such as corn, wheat, and tobacco, as well as ornamental plants and turf. The moth generally does not overwinter in colder regions, and begins its season in southern and western states, moving northward in early spring and dying out in the fall. There may be 3-4 generations each season. Females lay eggs singly or in masses of up to 30 eggs, either on the
Latin Name: Acrolophus popeannellus
Common Name: Burrowing Sod Webworm
Other Names: Tube moths
Pest Details
Origin:
These are native insects in North America with most species found in the southern and western states, but occurring as far north as Pennsylvania and the Upper Midwest. Many more species occur throughout Latin America.
Biology:
This small family of about 6 dozen species has a few members that may be damaging to turf, the larvae feeding on the roots of the turf as well as on decaying plant materials. They will feed on most kinds of turf grass as well as on the roots of corn and a few other plants. The larva creates a vertical burrow in the soil and lives within this, emerging to sever blades of grass or surface roots and dragging these back into its burrow to eat. The burrow may be ¼ inch wide and up to 2 inches deep, with threads of silk lining the burrow and often extending up into the turf.
Identification:
Latin Name: Phryganidia californica
Common Name: California Oakworm
Other Names: Oakworm moth, California oakworm
Pest Details
Origin:
This is a native insect in the western U.S.
Biology:
This destructive moth occurs only along the West Coast in California and Oregon. It feeds on a variety of oak trees, but is particularly damaging to Live Oak. There may be up to 3 generations each year when weather conditions permit, and heavy infestations may completely defoliate large oak trees. The moths or larvae can be present from March through November, but their numbers each year vary considerably, with massive outbreaks one year and few larvae on trees in following years. The larva overwinters on the underside of a leaf and resumes activity in the spring. The larvae often leave the foliage to pupate heavily on the trunks of the trees as well as on any hard surface nearby, such as walls of structures.
Identification:
Latin Name: Malacosoma californicum
Common Name: California Tent Caterpillar
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
This is a native species in North America and occurs from eastern Canada south into the northeast U.S. and west to the Pacific Coast. It is much more common in the western half of the continent.
Biology:
A single generation each year begins with an overwintering mass of eggs deposited on a branch by the female moth the previous summer, with up to 350 eggs in a single mass. The eggs hatch in the spring and the larvae immediately create a mass of webbing that they hide and feed within, feeding until late spring and early summer when they pupate on the trunks and nearby structures. The larvae continue to feed gregariously until mature. They feed on a wide variety of deciduous trees, and commonly on cherry, peach, apple, hawthorn, and other members of the rose family, as well as oak, maple, birch, and other ornamentals.
Latin Name: Prionoxystus robiniae
Common Name: Carpenterworm
Other Names: Locust borer
Pest Details
Origin:
This is a native species in North America and is found throughout the United States and southern Canada and south into Mexico.
Biology:
This small family of moths has about 50 species in North America, with The Carpenterworm the largest. The larvae feed within the solid wood of deciduous trees such as locust, oak, chestnut, poplar, willow, maple, and ash, taking 3-4 years to complete their growth. They also may infest fruit trees such as apricot and pear, causing significant damage due to the large size of the larva as it grows, particularly when the larva is feeding within large branches that may then weaken and fall. Adult moths emerge from the overwintering pupae in early spring, mating and depositing eggs on new host trees. The larvae initially feed in the sapwood but move to the heartwood
Latin Name: Cydia pomonella
Common Name: Codling Moth
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
It is believed that this moth originated in Asia and moved into Europe many centuries ago. It was then brought into North America in infested materials during colonial times and was discovered on the Pacific Coast states by 1872. It now is found worldwide wherever suitable host plants are grown.
Biology:
This is the usual “worm in the apple” species of moth, but the larvae also infest pears, apricots, peaches, and walnuts. It has the potential to destroy or damage nearly all of the crop on a single tree. The adult moths are active from April through November in warmer regions, and females can lay eggs throughout the summer months, extending the period when control efforts are required. The final larva overwinters in a cocoon attached to the bark of the tree or in plant debris below the tree, pupating in early spring. Adults emerge a short
Latin Name: Vespamima ovaroensis
Common Name: Douglas-fir Pitch Moth
Other Names: Sequoia pitch moth – V. sequoiae
Pest Details
Origin:
These are native moths in western North America.
Biology:
These two closely related species of moths occur in western North America, and feed within the trunks of many kinds of conifers. Their feeding generally causes no actual damage to the infested tree except when it is occurring at a junction of a limb, in which case it may weaken the limb and kill it or cause it to fall off. The main concern is the ugly white sap that runs out of the entry wound in the tree, often flowing in copious quantities down the trunk from that point and causing a loss of aesthetic value, or accumulating in a large blob on the trunk. Future female moths may be drawn to that point to deposit more eggs. Adult moths emerge from the overwintering pupa, which may extrude from the hole in the trunk,