Conifer Swift
Encyclopedia
The Conifer Swift Moth is a swift moth considered a forest pest in eastern and central North America
, from Canada
south to North Carolina
. Larvae
feed primarily on roots of evergreen
trees, and are weakly polyphagous, able to survive on deciduous
trees (e.g. birch
es, Betula) but preferring Balsam fir
and red spruce
. They penetrate bark, but lesions on roots are shallow. These wounds may, however, provide easy entry for pathogenic fungi and nematodes. K. gracilis has been shown to reduce survival on saplings, but adult trees have been found with more than 30 feeding scars on their roots. But trees that are weakened by air pollution
or changes in soil chemistry may invite K. gracilis infestation. Adults can be found in woody areas between June and August. They are cryptically colored
, but are active for 20-40 minutes each dawn and twilight, and occasionally come to light. In the conifer swift moth, courtship, mating, and egg laying occur during evening hours; only oviposition
occurs in the morning. They are Exoporia
, and females scatter eggs while in flight. It takes two years for the larvae to mature, so populations tend towards two-year cycles. Females emit pheromones to attract males, from organs on their hind wings.
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
south to North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. Larvae
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
feed primarily on roots of evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
trees, and are weakly polyphagous, able to survive on deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
trees (e.g. birch
Birch
Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
es, Betula) but preferring Balsam fir
Balsam Fir
The balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada and the northeastern United States .-Growth:It is a small to medium-size evergreen tree typically tall, rarely to tall, with a narrow conic crown...
and red spruce
Red Spruce
Picea rubens is a species of spruce native to eastern North America, ranging from eastern Quebec to Nova Scotia, and from New England south in the Adirondack Mountains and Appalachians to western North Carolina.-Physical description:...
. They penetrate bark, but lesions on roots are shallow. These wounds may, however, provide easy entry for pathogenic fungi and nematodes. K. gracilis has been shown to reduce survival on saplings, but adult trees have been found with more than 30 feeding scars on their roots. But trees that are weakened by air pollution
Air pollution
Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere....
or changes in soil chemistry may invite K. gracilis infestation. Adults can be found in woody areas between June and August. They are cryptically colored
Crypsis
In ecology, crypsis is the ability of an organism to avoid observation or detection by other organisms. It may be either a predation strategy or an antipredator adaptation, and methods include camouflage, nocturnality, subterranean lifestyle, transparency, and mimicry...
, but are active for 20-40 minutes each dawn and twilight, and occasionally come to light. In the conifer swift moth, courtship, mating, and egg laying occur during evening hours; only oviposition
Oviposition
Oviposition is the process of laying eggs by oviparous animals.Some arthropods, for example, lay their eggs with an organ called the ovipositor.Fish , amphibians, reptiles, birds and monetremata also lay eggs....
occurs in the morning. They are Exoporia
Exoporia
Exoporia are a group of primitive Lepidoptera comprising the superfamilies Mnesarchaeoidea and Hepialoidea . Exoporia is a natural group or clade which is the sister group of the lepidopteran infraorder Heteroneura...
, and females scatter eggs while in flight. It takes two years for the larvae to mature, so populations tend towards two-year cycles. Females emit pheromones to attract males, from organs on their hind wings.
Other
- http://bugguide.net/node/view/139456 [plain url]
- Kuenen LPS, DL Wagner, WE Wallner, and RT Carde. “Female sex-pheromone in Korscheltellus-gracilis (Grote) (Lepidoptera, Hepialidae).” Canadian Entomologist, 126(1): 31-41. 1994.
- Wagner, D, and J Rosovsky. “Mating systems in primitive Lepidoptera, with emphasis on the reproductive behaviour of Korscheltellus gracilis (Hepialidae).” Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 102(3): 277-303. 2008.
- Wallner, William E and David L, Bruce Parker, and Donald Tobi. “Bioecology of the conifer swift moth, Korscheltellus gracilis, a root feeder associated with spruce-fir decline.” In: Baranchikov, Yuri N.; Mattson, William J.; Hain, Fred P.; Payne, Thomas L., eds. Forest Insect Guilds: Patterns of Interaction with Host Trees; 1989 August 13-17; Abakan, Siberia, U.S.S.R. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-153. Radnor, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 199-204.