Dioryctria amatella

Dioryctria amatella
Dioryctria amatella
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Pyralidae
Genus: Dioryctria
Species: D. amatella
Binomial name
Dioryctria amatella
(Hulst, 1887)[1][2][3]
Synonyms
  • Nephopteryx amatella Hulst, 1887

The Southern Pineconeworm Moth (Dioryctria amatella) is a species of moth of the Pyralidae family. It is found in the south-eastern United States[4], from Maryland south to Florida and west into Texas.

The wingspan is 27-32 mm. The forewings are dark grey to brown to nearly black and are boldly patterned with multiple contrasting white patches and zig-zag crossbands. The hindwings are light grey to tan. There are one to four generations per year, with adults on wing from early April to early November.[5]

The larvae feed on Pinus species. They feed on the buds, male and female flowers, shoots, branches, stems and first and second year cones. The feeding causes large external masses of pitch. The species overwinters as an early instar larvae at the base of persistent cones, under bud scales or in fusiform galls on branches and stems.

Gallery

  • Larva

  • Larva

  • Damage

  • Damage

References

  1. ^ "globiz.pyraloidea.org". globiz.pyraloidea.org. http://globiz.pyraloidea.org/Pages/Reports/TaxonReport.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fPages%2fReports%2fTaxonomyReport.aspx. Retrieved 2011-10-07. 
  2. ^ "Dioryctria at funet". Nic.funet.fi. http://www.nic.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/pyraloidea/pyralidae/phycitinae/dioryctria/index.html. Retrieved 2011-10-07. 
  3. ^ "mothphotographersgroup". Mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu. http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/species.php?hodges=5853. Retrieved 2011-10-07. 
  4. ^ "Bug Guide". Bug Guide. http://bugguide.net/node/view/22267. Retrieved 2011-10-07. 
  5. ^ "Florida Featured Creatures". Entomology.ifas.ufl.edu. http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/trees/pine_coneworm.htm. Retrieved 2011-10-07. 
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