''Alsophila pometaria'', the fall cankerworm, is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family

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 ''met ...

. The species was first described in English by the KJV Bible oel 1:4 It is found in North America from

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

west to

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, south to

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and zones of

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Description

The caterpillars grow to about 25 mm long. In color, they vary from light green to a dark brownish green. Light green caterpillars have white lines running down the body from the head to the tip of the abdomen while the darker caterpillars have a black stripe the length of their back. Larvae have three pairs of legs on their thorax and three pairs of

proleg A proleg is a small, fleshy, stub structure found on the ventral surface of the abdomen of most larval forms of insects of the order Lepidoptera, though they can also be found on other larval insects such as sawflies and a few other types of in ...

s on their abdomen. The first pair of prolegs is much smaller than the last two pairs. The pupa is wrapped in a silk cocoon and is buried just beneath the surface of the ground."Fall Cankerworm"
''Insect Advice from Extension''. Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved February 5, 2015. Adult males have a 25–35 mm wingspan. The forewings are glossy brown and crossed with irregular white bands. The females are brownish gray, wingless, and 10–12 mm long. Eggs are grayish brown with a dot and ring on the top and are less than 1 mm in diameter.

Biology

The larvae feed on a large variety of deciduous trees and shrubs, including ''

Ulmus Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of Nor ...

'', ''

Fraxinus ''Fraxinus'' (), common name, commonly called ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous, though a number of Subtropics, subtropic ...

'' and '' Acer''. Other recorded hosts include hackberry, oak, various members of the rose family, walnut and willow. The larvae hatch and are active in the spring. These insects are called fall cankerworms because the females emerge from the soil in November, mate and lay their eggs in clusters on hardwood trees."Fall Cankerworm (''Alsophila pometaria'')"
''NC Cooperative Extension Resources''. Retrieved February 5, 2015 There are some natural enemies of this species. Many birds eat the caterpillars. The ground beetle, ''

Calosoma frigidum ''Calosoma frigidum'', also known as the cold-country caterpillar hunter, is a species of ground beetle in the subfamily Carabinae Carabinae is a subfamily of beetles in the family Carabidae, containing the following genera: * '' Aplothorax'' ...

'' also feeds on the caterpillars. The wasp, ''

Telenomus alsophilae ''Telenomus'' is a genus of parasitoid wasps from the subfamily Telenominae. The genus was first described by Alexander Henry Haliday in 1833. Species in this genus parasitise the eggs or immature stages of other insects. Known hosts include ...

'', parasitizes the eggs. File:Alsophila pometaria caterpillar.jpg, Caterpillar File:Alsophila pometaria caterpillar. Fraxinus pennsylvanica.jpg, Caterpillar File:Alsophila pometaria pupa.jpg, Pupa File:Fall Cankerworm Moth - Alsophila pometaria, Leesylvania State Park, Woodbridge, Virginia.jpg, Wingless adult female

Economic importance

The larvae, called loopers or inchworms, are considered a serious pest of many tree species because they can cause major defoliation in the new spring growth. If defoliation occurs two years in a row, the tree can die, especially if it has been stressed by drought.

References

External links

* * *
"Fall cankerworm (''Alsophila pometaria'')"
''Sugarbush management - A guide to forest pest management''. Natural Resources Canada. Archived May 9, 2009. Alsophilinae Taxa named by Thaddeus William Harris Moths of North America {{Alsophilinae-stub