Dioryctria albovittella
Encyclopedia
The Pinyon Tip Moth is a species of moth
of the Pyralidae
family. It is found in North America
, including New Mexico
.
The wingspan
is about 25 mm. Adults are greyish. The forewings are marked in a zig-zag pattern. The hindwings are greyish white. Adult are on wing from late June to August in one generation per year.
The larvae feed on Pinyon pine
. They feed underneath the bark of twig terminals, producing girdling wounds that cause twig dieback. Often there is some oozing of pitch at the wound site. Larvae may also tunnel cones. Older larvae are light golden brown with a dark brown head. The species overwinters in the first instar larval stage within a silk cocoon on the bark. Pupation takes place in the terminals and cones.
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 Pyralidae
Pyralidae
The Pyralidae or snout moths are a family of Lepidoptera in the ditrysian superfamily Pyraloidea. In many classifications, the grass moths are included in the Pyralidae as a subfamily, making the combined group one of the largest families in the Lepidoptera...
family. It is found in 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...
, including New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
.
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 about 25 mm. Adults are greyish. The forewings are marked in a zig-zag pattern. The hindwings are greyish white. Adult are on wing from late June to August in one generation per year.
The larvae feed on Pinyon pine
Pinyon pine
The pinyon pine group grows in the southwestern United States and in Mexico. The trees yield edible pinyon nuts, which were a staple of the Native Americans, and are still widely eaten...
. They feed underneath the bark of twig terminals, producing girdling wounds that cause twig dieback. Often there is some oozing of pitch at the wound site. Larvae may also tunnel cones. Older larvae are light golden brown with a dark brown head. The species overwinters in the first instar larval stage within a silk cocoon on the bark. Pupation takes place in the terminals and cones.