Petrova pallipennis McDunnough feeds on jack pine in the Lake States and 
southern Canada. The larvae feed in and hollow out the terminals and adjacent 
lateral buds. Winter is spent as a larva in the large central bud. Feeding is resumed 
about mid-May and pupation occurs in the bud in early June. Damage to terminals 
and lateral buds results in the death of an entire whorl, causing crooked stems and 
“stag-headedness.” 
The northern pitch twig moth, P. albicapitana (Busck), occurs in all parts of 
North America where jack pine grows naturally. Scotch and lodgepole pines are 
also attacked. The adult is reddish brown with grayish patches on the forewings, 
and has a wingspread of about 18 mm. 
Young pines from 0.3 to 1.5 m tall are most heavily infested. Smaller ones are 
not attacked and taller ones are rarely injured. although signs of attack may be seen 
in trees up to 9 m tall. Larvae feed singly under masses of pitch, about 2 cm in 
diameter, generally at an internode or fork. As they develop, their feeding may be 
extended almost to the pith. Two years are required to complete the life cycie, and 
winter is spent in the larval stage. Pupation occurs under the pitch mass. 
When an attack occurs at the base of a growing terminal, the shoot may be 
girdled and killed, or the terminal may survive as a weakened. crooked trunk. 
Damage in jack, Scotch, and lodgepole pine plantations may be severe. Areas 
planted entirely during a 1- or 2-year period suffer much less damage than areas 
planted in small blocks over a period of several years (/2/5). 
Petrova houseri Miller attacks shortleaf pine from Ohio south to Florida (854). 
The adult is dark gray with light- and dark-brown areas and has a wingspread of 
about 15 mm. Before its description as a new species (S5/), its damage had been 
attributed to the pitch twig moth. The larvae feed in the inner bark of current shoots, 
usually girdling them. Pitch blisters, which form over the entrance holes, average 
about 1.3 cm in diameter. Usually, there is only one blister per shoot, and it is 
situated away from a branch node. Toward the end of summer, the larva bores down 
to the pith where it spends the winter. Activity is resumed in the spring, and the 
larva tunnels toward the base of the shoot for a distance of about 2.5 cm. Pupation 
occurs beneath the blister. There is one generation per year. Infested shoots usually 
turn reddish brown, die, and eventually break off. The braconid Agathis pini 
(Muesebeck) is an important parasite of the species. 
The eyespotted bud moth. Spilonota ocellana (Denis & Schiffermiller), an 
introduced species, occurs from coast to coast in the Northern States and southern 
Canada and south to North Carolina. Its hosts are hawthorn, larch, laurel. oak, and 
several species of fruit trees. The adult is dark, ashy gray, with a large irregular 
whitish median band on the forewing and has a wingspread of about 14 mm. 
Adults appear in June and early July and lay their eggs on the undersides of 
leaves. Young larvae feed for a short time on the leaves and then migrate to young 
twigs where they spin tiny, silken hibernacula in which to spend the winter. Feeding 
is resumed in the spring on opening buds and unfolding leaves. which are bound 
together with silk. Pupation occurs in June in silk-lined cocoons. There is one 
generation per year (942). This species is most important as an orchard pest. 
The eastern pine shoot borer, Eucosma gloriola Heinrich, is widely distributed 
in the Northeastern and Lake States and southern Canada. Its hosts are eastern 
white. jack, red. Scotch, Austrian, and Swiss mountain pines, and Douglas-fir. The 
adult is coppery red, with two shining, gray transverse bands on the forewings, and 
has a wingspread of about 15 mm. 
154 
