Outbreak of Zeiraphera rufimitrana on silver fir hitherto unknown in southwest Germany

Abstract

The most important defoliator of the silver fir, Abies alba, is Choristoneura murinana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) (Bogensch&#252tz 1978). The fact that Zeiraphera rufimitrana H.-S. (Lepidoptera: Olethreutidae) (Bovey 1978) often occurs simultaneously with C. murinana has, in practice, frequently led to misidentification. The larvae of both species feed exclusively on juvenile needles in the upper, sun-exposed tree crowns and cause an identical type of defoliation. Foraged needles discolor reddish-brown in the early summer and are later shed. Once the brown needles have been shed, one can assess the severity of the infestation, over the course of previous years as well as more recently. Damage inflicted by the two species can be distinguished on the basis of morphological and behavioral differences between them. In this paper I present the results obtained from studies pursued since an outbreak of Z. rufimitrana in the Black Forest in 1986. It represents the first outbreak of this particular pest observed in southwest Germany to date.

Parent Publication

• Forest Insect Guilds: Patterns of Interaction with Host Trees

Citation

Bogenschütz, Hermann. 1991. Outbreak of Zeiraphera rufimitrana on silver fir hitherto unknown in southwest Germany. In: Baranchikov, Yuri N.; Mattson, William J.; Hain, Fred P.; Payne, Thomas L., eds. Forest Insect Guilds: Patterns of Interaction with Host Trees; 1989 August 13-17; Abakan, Siberia, U.S.S.R. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-153. Radnor, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station: 165-171.