Species Chrysoteuchia topiarius - Cranberry Girdler - Hodges#5391

5391

Subterranean Sod Webworm (larva)

Topiary Grass-veneer Moth

Chrysoteuchia topiarius (Zeller, 1866)

Chrysoteuchia topiaria Zeller, 1866

TOPIARIA: from the Latin "topiarius" (an ornamental gardener); topiary is the art of trimming and training shrubs or trees in unnatural ornamental shapes - probably refers to the larva's feeding effect on host plants

wingspan 17-20 mm

larvae length to 13 mm

Adult: head with prominent "snout"; forewing varies from dark reddish-brown to light yellowish-brown with distinct dark veins; subterminal line prominent, angled, silvery-gray or whitish; terminal line composed of thin black line near apex, and three black dots near anal angle; fringe shiny gold or bronze; hindwing gray with thin dark terminal line

Larva: head red or orange; thorax yellowish; abdomen white to dark brown or blackish with one or two long lateral hairs per segment

all of United States and southern Canada

grasslands, fields, cranberry plantations, tree nurseries; adults are active day and night, and are attracted to light

adults fly from June to August

larvae from July to September

young larvae feed on soft tissues such as crowns, leaves, and roots of grasses; mature larvae feed on bark of cranberry and conifer seedling roots and crowns; also feed on blueberry and many species of herbaceous plants

one or two generations per year; eggs are laid on host plant and hatch in 4-14 days, depending on temperature; overwinters either as a mature larva or a pupa wrapped in silk cocoon covered with soil

Adult with eggs

A pest of cranberry growers, sod growers, and tree nursery owners.

Adult females tend to drop to the ground when disturbed, whereas males tend to fly away.

Agriphila ruricolella and A. vulgivagella are similar but lack a subterminal line on the forewing, and the terminal line is composed completely of separate black dots (i.e. it has no partial continous black line near the apex)

Powell, J.A. & P.A. Opler 2009. Moths of Western North America. University of California Press. plate 24, figs. 23, 24; p. 182. (1)

Moth Photographers Group (2)

The Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) (3)

pinned adult image by C.D. Bird, plus synonym, habitat, description, flight season, distribution, food plants (Strickland Entomological Museum, U. of Alberta)

Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA) (4)

images of damage to Douglas-fir seedlings (Scott Tunnock, USDA Forest Service, forestpests.org)

flight behavior during pursuit (Sheila Fitzpatrick et al, Agriculture Canada)

common name reference; PDF doc [Subterranean Sod Webworm; larva] (Utah State U.)