Biology, spread, and biological control of winter moth in the eastern United States

Joseph Elkinton; George Boettner; Andrew Liebhold; Rodger Gwiazdowski

Biology, spread, and biological control of winter moth in the eastern United States

Informally Refereed

Authors:	Joseph Elkinton, George Boettner, Andrew Liebhold, Rodger Gwiazdowski
Year:	2015
Type:	Miscellaneous
Station:	Northern Research Station
Source:	FHTET-2014-07. Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Health Technology Team. 22 p.

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Abstract

The winter moth (Operophtera brumata L.; Lepidoptera: Geometridae) is an inchworm caterpillar that hatches coincident with bud-break on its hosts and feeds on a wide range of deciduous trees. It is one of a group of geometrid species that feed in early spring and then pupate in the top layer of the soil or litter beginning in mid-May. As postulated by Feeney (1970), the early spring feeding strategy of such larvae allows them to take advantage of the high nitrogen content and low concentrations of defensive compounds, such as condensed tannins, in newly formed leaves.

Citation

Elkinton, Joseph; Boettner, George; Liebhold, Andrew; Gwiazdowski, Rodger. 2015. Biology, spread, and biological control of winter moth in the eastern United States. FHTET-2014-07. Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Health Technology Team. 22 p.