This
is, to-date, a relatively rare pest to turn up in your Maine cranberry
sweep catches. It is seen occasionally in New Jersey as well, and even
less often in Massachusetts. Severe local outbreaks occurred on cranberry
in Cape Cod in 1927 and 1934, but in more recent times its numbers have
declined such that it even appeared on the Massachusetts endangered species
at one time (Averill & Sylvia.
Cranberry Insects of the Northeast.
p. 32). According to W. L. Baker in a miscellaneous USDA Forest Service
publication of 1972 entitled Eastern Forest Insects, this larva
prefers blueberries, huckleberries, and small trees growing in pastures
or cut-over areas. But it will certainly feed on cranberry, too.
Description:
Yellow to straw-colored with round black spots on various parts of their
bodies. There is a row of conspicuous white spots along each side of the
body, mostly above the spiracles. Most of these spots are bordered with
one black spot in front and another behind. When full grown, they are about
1.5 to 2 inches long, and as they mature they have the habit of hanging
straight downward, motionless, during the day. They feed mainly in the
early evening and into the night. The pupal stage lasts about a month and
the moths appear in September and very early October (Averill & Sylvia.
Cranberry
Insects of the Northeast. p. 33). |
