Fall Cankerworm

Alsophila pometaria

December 12, 2003

It's been over a month since I've been able to add a new moth to the site.   This is another one of those drab cold season species whose females are flightless.  Two males showed up at the light last night after a bit of a warm spell following last week's snowstorm.   The adults emerge in the fall and are on the wing into December and, in warmer years, January.

The larvae of A.pometaria have been recorded as pests of deciduous trees since the mid 1600's.