Dichomeris ligulella
Encyclopedia
The Palmerworm is a moth
of the Gelechiidae
family. It is found in eastern North America
.
The wingspan
is 15-18 mm. Adults are on wing from April to October. There is one generation per year.
The larvae feed on apple, hackberry, hazel and oak. The larvae skeletonize leaves and fold or roll them during feeding. It is occasionally responsible for widespread defoliation of hardwood species. Outbreaks rarely last more than one or two years and usually occur during unusually hot and dry springs.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
of the Gelechiidae
Gelechiidae
Gelechiidae is a family of moths commonly referred to as twirler moths or gelechiid moths. They are the namesake family of the huge and little-studied superfamily Gelechioidea, and the Gelechiidae's relationships with and delimitation against their relatives have been subject to considerable...
family. It is found in eastern North America
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...
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 15-18 mm. Adults are on wing from April to October. There is one generation per year.
The larvae feed on apple, hackberry, hazel and oak. The larvae skeletonize leaves and fold or roll them during feeding. It is occasionally responsible for widespread defoliation of hardwood species. Outbreaks rarely last more than one or two years and usually occur during unusually hot and dry springs.