Species Dioryctria reniculelloides - Spruce Coneworm - Hodges#5843

5843

described in 1973 by Mutuura and Munroe

wingspan about 23 mm, based on photo by Jim Vargo at MPG

larvae length to 18 mm

Adult: forewing brownish-gray with black zigzag AM and PM lines, bordered by white; dull yellowish shading inside AM line at inner margin, and sometimes beyond PM line; irregular white discal spot in median area; lacks black blotch inside AM line at costa; hindwing light brownish-gray with pale fringe.

lack of spine in aedeagus.

Nova Scotia to Alaska, south in the east to New York, and south in the west to California and New Mexico

coniferous and mixed forests; adults are nocturnal and come to light

adults fly from June to August

larvae feed primarily on cones (and sometimes shoots and needles) of spruce (Picea spp.); secondary hosts include Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), hemlock, fir, and Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta)

One generation per year; eggs are laid on hostplant in late summer and hatch before winter; overwinters as a first-instar larva without feeding; larvae feed during following spring, and pupate in late June and early July

The eggs hatch in about 10 days and the young larvae, without feeding, spin hibernaculae where they spend the winter.(1)

Fir Coneworm (Dioryctria abietivorella) forewing lacks dull yellowish shading and has black blotch inside AM line at costa - lacking in reniculelloides; D. pseudotsugella is restricted to the west (mostly southern British Columbia and Alberta) but is virtually identical, and is best distinguished by genitalic differences in areas of range overlap (compare images of these and related species by Jim Vargo at MPG)

live and pinned adult images by various photographers (Moth Photographers Group)

species account including common name reference, habitat, flight season, description, similar species, biology, larval foodplants, distribution (Strickland Entomological Museum, U. of Alberta)

pinned adult image and live larva image (Canadian Forest Service)

14 pinned adult images (All-Leps)

diagrams of larvae at various stages (USDA Forest Service, insectimages.org)

presence in California; list of 13 specimen records with dates and locations, plus records of related species (U. of California at Berkeley)

presence in Alaska; citation of feeding evidence by USDA Forest Service (courtesy Google Book Search)