Species Acleris gloveranus - Western Blackheaded Budworm - Hodges#3547

3547

Acleris gloveranus (Walsingham 1879) (1)

Lophoderus gloveranus Walsingham 1879 (2)

Named in honor of famed illustrator and entomologist Townend Glover (1813-1883).

Forewing length 8.0-10.5 mm. (3)

Larva to 11-15 mm. (3)

Alaska and northwestern Canada south to northern California and east to western Montana.

Holotype male: Sheep Rock, Siskiyou Co., California. (4)

Larvae recorded on various Pinaceae, including balsam fir, white fir, spruce, hemlock and larch. (5), (6) Sometimes reaches outbreak population levels, causing widespread defoliation, especially in British Columbia and Alaska. (7) Severe outbreaks can cover millions of acres, resulting in up to 50% tree mortality in some coastal areas. Outbreaks tend to occur after periods of low rainfall. (3)

Walsingham's description of a single specimen is of a rare polymorph from Mt. Shasta and not recognized as such for a hundred years. Much of the early literature for this moth is under Acleris variana (Fernald), the eastern blackheaded budworm. A. variana differs by having huge abdominal tufts on the female used to cover the eggs, as well as differences in the male genitalia. (7), (6)

Powell, J.A. & P.A. Opler 2009. Moths of Western North America, pl. 17.34-37; p. 145. (7)

Walsingham, Lord. North-American Torticidae. Illustrations of typical specimens of Lepidoptera Heterocera in the collection of the British Museum 4: 14. (2)

Moth Photographers Group

TortAI (3)