Spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfam ...

s, ''Picea'' species, are used as food plants by the

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sy ...

s of many species of

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order of insects that includes butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 families and 46 superfamilies, 10 percent of the total described speci ...

. The Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants (HOSTS) lists over 1,000 species of Lepidoptera (See External links). A few examples are listed below: *

Batrachedridae The Batrachedridae are a small family of tiny moths. These are small, slender moths which rest with their wings wrapped tightly around their bodies. Taxonomy The taxonomy of this and related groups is often disputed. This group was first propos ...

** '' Batrachedra pinicolella'' *

Crambidae The Crambidae are the grass moth family of lepidopterans. They are variable in appearance, the nominal subfamily Crambinae (grass moths) taking up closely folded postures on grass stems where they are inconspicuous, while other subfamilies includ ...

** '' Conogethes pinicolalis'' – recorded on Ezo spruce (''P. jezoensis'') *

Gelechiidae The Gelechiidae are 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 family's taxonomy has been subject to considerable d ...

**''

Chionodes ''Chionodes'' is a genus of moths of the family Gelechiidae. It is distributed throughout much of the world. The larvae of many species use the Douglas fir as a host plant. Species *The formosella species-group **''Chionodes formosella''-complex ...

'' species: *** '' C. continuella'' – recorded on

white spruce White spruce is a common name for several species of spruce (''Picea'') and may refer to: * ''Picea glauca'', native to most of Canada and Alaska with limited populations in the northeastern United States * ''Picea engelmannii ''Picea engelman ...

(''P. glauca'') *** '' C. electella'' *

Geometridae The geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek ''geo'' γεω (derivative form of or "the earth"), and ''metro ...

** ''

Bupalus piniaria __NOTOC__ The bordered white or pine looper (''Bupalus piniaria''), is a moth of the family Geometridae. Among these, it belongs to tribe Bupalini of the subfamily Ennominae. ''B. piniaria'' is a common species throughout the western Palearctic r ...

'' (bordered white) ** ''

Ectropis crepuscularia The engrailed and small engrailed (''Ectropis crepuscularia'') are moths of the family Geometridae found from the British Isles through central and eastern Europe to the Russian Far East and Kazakhstan. The western Mediterranean and Asia Mi ...

'' (engrailed) ** ''

Epirrita autumnata The autumnal moth (''Epirrita autumnata'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen in 1794. It is found throughout the Palearctic region and the Near East and has a much wider distr ...

'' (autumnal moth) ** ''

Eupithecia subfuscata The grey pug (''Eupithecia subfuscata'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found throughout the Palearctic region. It is also found in North America. Since it does not place any special demands on climatic conditions, special caterpil ...

'' (grey pug) – recorded on

black spruce ''Picea mariana'', the black spruce, is a North American species of spruce tree in the pine family. It is widespread across Canada, found in all 10 provinces and all 3 territories. It is the official tree of the province of Newfoundland and Lab ...

(''P. mariana'') ** '' Odontopera bidentata'' (scalloped hazel) – recorded on

Norway spruce ''Picea abies'', the Norway spruce or European spruce, is a species of spruce native to Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. It has branchlets that typically hang downwards, and the largest cones of any spruce, 9–17 cm long. It is very close ...

(''P. abies'') ** ''

Operophtera brumata :''In North America, "winter moth" usually denotes the invasive species ''Operophtera brumata'', but may also mean refer to a native species, ''Erannis tiliaria'' (linden looper) or '' Operophtera bruceata'' (bruce spanworm).'' The winter moth (' ...

'' (winter moth) – recorded on Norway spruce (''P. abies'') *

Hepialidae The Hepialidae are a family of insects in the lepidopteran order. Moths of this family are often referred to as swift moths or ghost moths. Taxonomy and systematics The Hepialidae constitute by far the most diverse group of the infraorder Exop ...

** ''

Gazoryctra wielgusi ''Gazoryctra wielgusi'' is a moth of the family Hepialidae. It is known from Arizona and New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity ...

'' ** ''

Korscheltellus gracilis The conifer swift moth (''Korscheltellus gracilis'') 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 polyphagou ...

'' (conifer swift) – prefers

red spruce ''Picea rubens'', commonly known as red spruce, is a species of spruce native to eastern North America, ranging from eastern Quebec and Nova Scotia, west to the Adirondack Mountains and south through New England along the Appalachians to western ...

(''P. rubens''), also recorded on white spruce (''P. glauca'') *

Lymantriidae The Lymantriinae (formerly called the Lymantriidae) are a subfamily of moths of the family Erebidae. The taxon was erected by George Hampson in 1893. Many of its component species are referred to as "tussock moths" of one sort or another. The cat ...

** ''

Lymantria dispar ''Lymantria dispar'', also known as the gypsy moth or the spongy moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae. ''Lymantria dispar'' is subdivided into several subspecies, with subspecies such as ''L. d. dispar'' and ''L. d. japonica'' be ...

'' (gypsy moth) – older larvae only *

Noctuidae The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family of moths. They are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly changing, along with the other ...

** ''

Agrotis segetum ''Agrotis segetum'', sometimes known as the turnip moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is a common European species and it is found in Africa and across ...

'' (turnip moth) – recorded on

Sitka spruce ''Picea sitchensis'', the Sitka spruce, is a large, coniferous, evergreen tree growing to almost tall, with a trunk diameter at breast height that can exceed 5 m (16 ft). It is by far the largest species of spruce and the fifth-lar ...

(''P. sitchensis'') ** '' Panolis flammea'' (pine beauty) *

Tortricidae The Tortricidae are a family of moths, commonly known as tortrix moths or leafroller moths, in the order Lepidoptera. This large family has over 11,000 species described, and is the sole member of the superfamily Tortricoidea, although the genus ...

** '' Cydia duplicana'' – recorded on injured bark of Norway spruce (''P. abies'') ** ''

Cydia illutana __NOTOC__ ''Cydia illutana'' is a small moth of the family Tortricidae. It is found from western and central Europe (Great Britain, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany and France), north to Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland) and e ...

'' – recorded on Norway spruce (''P. abies'') and

Siberian spruce ''Picea obovata'', the Siberian spruce, is a spruce native to Siberia, from the Ural Mountains east to Magadan Oblast, and from the Arctic tree line south to the Altay Mountains in northwestern Mongolia. Description and uses It is a medium-size ...

(''P.'' (''a.'') ''obovata'') cone scales ** '' Syndemis musculana''

References

External links

*{{cite web , last1=Robinson , first1=Gaden S. , last2=Ackery , first2=Phillip R. , last3=Kitching , first3=Ian J. , last4=Beccaloni , first4=George W. , last5=Hernández , first5=Luis M. , name-list-style=amp , date=2010 , url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/data/hostplants/search/list.dsml?&PGenus=Picea&sort=Family , title=Hostplant Genus: ''Picea'' , website=HOSTS - A Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants , publisher=

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...

+Lepidoptera