Dioryctria reniculelloides

Description

Dioryctria reniculelloides, the spruce coneworm, is a species of moth of the family Pyralidae. It is found from Nova Scotia to Alaska, south in the east to New York, and south in the west to California and New Mexico. It was recorded from China in 2009. Occasionally abundant, often in conjunction with epidemics of the spruce budworm, the spruce coneworm (Dioryctria reniculelloides Mutuura & Munroe) occurs through most or all of the range of spruce in North America, feeding on new foliage and cones of spruce, and often balsam fir (Ives and Wong 1988). When abundant, it can be a serious pest "particularly on white spruce" (Hedlin et al. 1980). The wingspan is 9.5–11 mm. The forewings are brownish grey with black zigzag lines, bordered by white. The hindwings are light brownish grey with a pale fringe. Adults are on wing from June to August in one generation per year. The larvae feed on Picea, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Tsuga, Abies and Pinus contorta. They generally feed on the cones of their host plant, but are occasionally also found on shoots and needles. Larvae of the spruce budworm sometimes cause superficial damage on cones, but their effect on the seed crop is minimal (Ives and Wong 1988), at least in central Canada. Capable of causing less than 10% of a seed crop, the larvae of the cone cochylid (Henricus fuscodorsana Kearfott) feed in the cones, damaging scales and seed (Hedlin et al. 1980). The species overwinters as a first-instar larva. Pupation takes place in late June and early July.