Pine scoop - a caterpillar that eats coniferous plantations
Everyone knows such a pest as a scoop. Usually scoop caterpillars destroy fruit, grain, berry crops. However, there is a species that feeds on coniferous trees - the pine scoop.
Content
What does a pine scoop look like: photo
Description of the pine scoop
Name: Pine scoop
Latin: Panolis flammeaClass: Insects - Insecta
Squad: Lepidoptera - Lepidoptera
Family: Owls - Noctuidae
 | Habitats: | all over the world |
 | Dangerous for: | pine, spruce, larch |
 | Means of destruction: | folk, chemical and biological preparations |
The wingspan is from 3 to 3,5 cm. The color of the wings and chest varies from gray-brown to brown. On the front wings curved small spots. The pattern is made up of dark, transverse, zigzag thin stripes. There is an oval kidney-shaped spot of white color. The hind pair of wings is gray-black. They have a small dark spot and a spotted fringe.
Chest with a light stripe and light spots. The belly has a gray-yellow color. Males have a ribbed extension, females have a funnel-shaped extension.
The eggs are flat-spherical in shape. There is a small indentation in the middle. The eggs are initially white. Over time, the color becomes purple-brown. Size from 0,6 to 0,8 mm.
Caterpillar of the 1st age is yellowish-green. She has a big yellow head. Maximum 3 mm long. Adult caterpillars are up to 4 cm long. They are dark green. The head is brown. Back with a wide white stripe. She is surrounded by white lines. Underparts with wide orange stripes.
The pupa has a shiny brown color. Length up to 18 mm. Abdomen with characteristic depressions.
Habitat
Pine scoops live in Europe, the European part of the Russian Federation, Western and Eastern Siberia, the Far East, the Urals. They inhabited the entire territory from the Pacific Ocean to the Baltic. They can also be found in northern Mongolia, China, Korea, Japan.
Life cycle and lifestyle
Pine owl.
The flight of moths is influenced by weather conditions and geographical location. The main period is from late April to early May. Twilight is the time of departure of butterflies. Fly no more than 45 minutes.
Pine scoops mate at night. The female lays eggs. The laying place is the underside of the needles. In heaps from 2 to 10 eggs. After 2 weeks, small caterpillars appear. They eat the tops of the needles.
Caterpillars have 5 instars. Pupation takes place in June-July. The place of pupation is the border of the earth with the forest litter. This stage takes from 9,5 to 10 months.
Economic importance
The pest destroys the common pine. Old trees that are between 30 and 60 years old are most affected. The forest-steppe zone of the Russian Federation, the Southern Urals, the Altai Territory, and Western Siberia especially feel the invasion of the insect. It also damages larch and spruce.
Fir, Siberian cedar, blue spruce, juniper and thuja are not particularly fond of pests. They feed on shoots and buds. After eating, small stumps remain.
preventive measures
To prevent insects:
- create mixed, complex, equally closed plantations;
- form a shrub layer and a dense edge;
- poor sandy soils are enriched with nitrogen, perennial lupine is sown between the rows;
- create small areas of hardwood among the pines;
- inspect pupae in autumn.
Biological and chemical control methods
Read more on the link 6 effective methods of protection against cutworms.
Conclusion
Pine cutworm reduces growth and promotes the formation of foci of stem diseases. The number of coniferous plants can be reduced significantly. When insects appear, it is necessary to treat with appropriate preparations.
