The Eastern Pine Shoot Borer (Eucosma gloriola) is a moth

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 Tortricidae

Tortricidae

Tortricidae is a family of moths, commonly known as tortrix moths, in the order Lepidoptera. Tortricidae is a large family with over 9,400 species described, and is the sole member of the superfamily Tortricoidea. Many of these are economically important pests. Olethreutidae is a junior synonym...

 family. It is found from eastern Canada, south to Virginia, and west to Minnesota

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 14-16 mm. The forewings are coppery red with two transverse grey bands. There is one generation per year.

The larvae feed on Pinus species, mainly Pinus strobus and Pinus sylvestris. First instar larvae enter shoots behind needle fascicles, boring directly into the pith. They initially feed downward toward the base of the shoots but later reverse direction. The frass

Frass

Frass is the fine powdery material phytophagous insects pass as waste after digesting plant parts. It causes plants to excrete chitinase due to high chitin levels, it is a natural bloom stimulant, and has high nutrient levels. Frass is known to have abundant amoeba, beneficial bacteria, and fungi...

is deposited on either end of the tunnel. Pupation takes place in a silken cocoon on the ground.