HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp

Clickable Guide

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Registration is open for the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2023

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29

Previous events

TaxonomyBrowse

Info

ImagesLinksBooksData

Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Carpenter and Clearwing Moths (Cossoidea) » Carpenter and Leopard Moths (Cossidae) » Cossinae » Prionoxystus » Little Carpenterworm Moth - Hodges#2694 (Prionoxystus macmurtrei)

Species Prionoxystus macmurtrei - Little Carpenterworm Moth - Hodges#2694

Classification · Hodges Number · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited

clear winged moth - Prionoxystus macmurtrei

2694 Little Carpenterworm Moth (Prionoxystus macmurtrei) - Prionoxystus macmurtrei

Large dark unknown moth - Prionoxystus macmurtrei

One of the Carpenters? - Prionoxystus macmurtrei

Big Brown Moth - Prionoxystus macmurtrei

carpenterworm moth - Prionoxystus macmurtrei

Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)

Superfamily Cossoidea (Carpenter and Clearwing Moths)

Family Cossidae (Carpenter and Leopard Moths)

Subfamily Cossinae

Genus Prionoxystus

Species macmurtrei (Little Carpenterworm Moth - Hodges#2694)

Hodges Number

2694

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Prionoxystus macmurtrei (Guérin-Méneville, 1829)

Size

wingspan 45-75 mm

larvae to 57 mm

Identification

Adult: forewing mottled gray and blackish with thin black lines crossing the wing at right-angles to the costa; wings are translucent but the translucency is usually not apparent unless the wings are spread against a background of contrasting colors

Larva: pink to white with dark head and thoracic shield

Range

Ontario and Quebec to Florida, west to Texas, north to Minnesota

Habitat

hardwood forests

Season

adults fly from April to July

Food

larvae bore in wood of ash, maple, and oak, and their tunnels decrease the value of hardwood lumber

Life Cycle

Life cycle takes 2-3 years.

The larvae spend their 1 year in the outer layers of the bark and the 2nd in the sapwood. In the 3rd summer, they bore in the woody part of the tree, making a labyrinth of crossing and recrossing tunnels.(1)

Overwinter as pupa in the tunnel.(1)

See Also

Carpenterworm Moth (Prionoxystus robiniae) is usually larger with less translucent wings and more large blotches (rather than thin black lines) on forewing

Print References

Covell, p. 423, plate 7-7 (2)

Internet References

Moth Photographers Group - photos of living and pinned adults

adult images and foodplants (Larry Line, Maryland)

pinned adult image (James Solomon, USDA Forest Service, forestryimages.org)

pinned adult image and common name reference (Clemson U., South Carolina)

pinned adult image (James Adams, Dalton State College, Georgia)

live larva image and description, plus life cycle and damage to trees (USDA Forest Service)

presence in Ontario; list (NHIC; Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources)

BOLD - Barcode of Life Data Systems - species account with photographs of pinned adults and DNA sequence

Works Cited

1.	Eastern Forest Insects Whiteford L. Baker. 1972. U.S. Department of Agriculture · Forest Service.

2.	Peterson Field Guides: Eastern Moths Charles V. Covell. 1984. Houghton Mifflin Company.

Contributed by Robin McLeod on 9 May, 2006 - 8:20pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Maury Heiman, Marci Hess
Last updated 30 August, 2023 - 3:31pm

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Printer Friendly Version