Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Phalaena padella, Yponomeuta padella Linnaeus, 1758, Yponomeuta padellus
Identification
Adult: forewing white with less than 30 small black spots; hindwing light gray
Larva: body pale yellowish to greenish-gray with dark spots on each abdominal segment; live in communal webs on hostplant
Range
occurs throughout Eurasia; recently introduced to North America but distribution apparently patchy or not well documented here (based on Internet reports or records from only New Brunswick, Ontario, British Columbia, Washington state)
Habitat
orchards, hedgerows, shrubby areas; adults are nocturnal and attracted to light
Season
adults fly from late June to August
larvae present in May and June
Food
larvae feed on leaves of cherry (Prunus spp.), hawthorn (Crataegus spp.), mountain-ash, and serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.)
Life Cycle
larvae live gregariously in a silken web
Remarks
A microsporidium (Microspora) infects cells of the host gut wall, and has caused mortality in laboratory experiments; potential use in biological control is being investigated
The parasitoid wasp Pimpla rufipes attacks the pupa stage
An introduced species
See Also
American Ermine Moth (
Yponomeuta multipunctella) has more than 40 spots on forewing
Spindle Ermine Moth (Yponomeuta cagnagella) usually has 30-40 spots on forewing
(
compare images of all three species at MPG)
Internet References
live adult images plus foodplants and flight season (Ian Kimber, UK Moths)
pinned adult image (Kimmo and Seppo Silvonen, Finland)
photos of larva, pupa, and webbing in Washington state, plus common name reference [Cherry Ermine Moth] (Oregon State U.)
live adult, larva, and pupa images plus seasonality, habitat, hostplants, and photo of parasitoid wasp (J.K. Lindsay, Netherlands)
live adult and larvae images plus other info (Bert Gustafsson, Swedish Museum of Natural History)
microsporidium as natural enemy [article abstract] plus common name reference [Small Ermine Moth] (D.J. Mowat and S. Clawson, Ireland)
presence in Ontario; list (NHIC; Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources)
foodplants; PDF doc plus introduction and distribution in western North America (Eric LaGasa, Washington State U.)
world distribution map plus foodplants, common name reference [Plum Small Ermine], links to images, and references (Markku Savela, FUNET)