Lepidopteran pests

Anastasia Korycinska

Back to presentations: Pests and diseases on trees and shrubsAnastasia Korycinska talked about caterpillar pests that are now starting to breed in the UK – or may shortly arrive – she described their hosts, life-cycle and the identification of the species. the following species were dealt with in detail: Yellow-tail Vapourer moth, Leopard moth, Cyclamen tortrix, Euproctis similis, Orgyia antiqua, Zeuzera pyrina, Clepsis spectrana.

Gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar): Caterpillars 70 mm long when full-grown Black or grey body with yellow hairs 5 pairs of blue warts on the back, near head 6 pairs of red warts towards the tail Black stripes on yellow-brown head

Oak processionary moth (Thaumetopoea processionea): Caterpillars up to 40 mm long, live communally. Blue-grey body, paler beige underneath. Orange warts and a black stripe on top of body. Very long white hairs all over caterpillar.

Pine processionary moth (Thaumetopoea pityocampa): Caterpillars up to 40 mm long Black or grey body and head Tufts of yellow/orange hairs on the top of the body Tufts of white/yellow hairs on the sides Very long hairs not present

Moths and various internal feeders or borers Sugar cane borer or banana moth (Opogona sacchari): Hollows out stems and may kill plants Internal feeder, unlikely to be seen Frass, boreholes, poor plant growth Caterpillars up to 30 mm long Flattened head and body Cream coloured with brown blotches.

Future pests include Western blackheaded budworm (Choristoneura conflictana), Large aspen tortrix (Acleris gloverana) and Rose gypsy moth (Lymantria mathura)