Coleophora laricella
species of insect
Coleophora laricella, the western larch case-bearer, is a moth belonging to the family of case-bearing moths Coleophoridae. It is native to Central and Northern Europe, with its original food source being the European larch or Larix decidua. However, it was introduced to North America in the mid-19th century where it has gained a wide range and become an invasive defoliator of several species of the genus Larix, particularly the western larch Larix occidentalis and the tamarack larch Larix laricina.
Life cycle
Coleophora laricella produces one generation per year with four life stages egg, larva (with four instars, or growth stages), pupa and adult.
Egg
Adult females produce 50–70 eggs, deposited one at a time on the needles of the larch. New eggs are a bright yellow colour, but they later turn burnished red. Eggs have 12 to 14 ridges extending from the top to the base of the egg. In areas with dense C. laricella infestations, females may deposit as many as 10 eggs per needle. Eggs hatch in about two weeks.
Larva
Larvae are 5–6 mm long, hatch in July, and pupate about 11 months later.
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This entry incorporates text from “Coleophora laricella” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.