| Picture | Title | Caption | Copyright |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult female | Zeuzera pyrina (leopard moth or wood leopard moth); adult female, wings flapping. Larvik, Norway. July, 2011. | ©Arnstein Rønning - CC BY 3.0 |
Datasheet
Zeuzera pyrina (wood leopard moth)
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Top of pageIdentity
Top of pagePreferred Scientific Name
- Zeuzera pyrina (L.) 1761
Preferred Common Name
- wood leopard moth
Other Scientific Names
- Cossus aesculi
- Zeuzera aesculi (L.)
- Zeuzera leuconotum
International Common Names
- English: leopard moth; moth, leopard; wood leopard moth
- Spanish: taladro amarillo de los troncos; taladro de los frutales
- French: coquette; zeuzere; zeuzère; zeuzere du poirier
Local Common Names
- Denmark: traeborer, plettet
- Germany: Blausieb; Bohrer, Apfel-; Bohrer, Rosskastanien-
- Israel: sas hanamer
- Italy: perdilegno bianco; perdilegno giallo; rodilegno giallo; tarlo degli alberi di frutto; Zeuzera bianco
- Netherlands: Houtrups, gele; Houtvlinder, gestippelde
- Norway: greindreper
- Sweden: traefjaeril, blaflaeckig
- Turkey: sari agac kurdu
EPPO code
- ZEUZPY (Zeuzera pyrina)
Taxonomic Tree
Top of page- Domain: Eukaryota
- Kingdom: Metazoa
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Subphylum: Uniramia
- Class: Insecta
- Order: Lepidoptera
- Family: Cossidae
- Genus: Zeuzera
- Species: Zeuzera pyrina
Description
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Eggs
Light yellow to bright salmon pink, approximately 1 mm long.
Larvae
Larvae are 50 to 60 mm long, bright yellow with numerous small black points on each segment. The head and the thoracic plates are shiny black.
Adults
Thorax is white or grey, hairy with six blueish-black spots; abdomen is relatively long. The wings are white, and are sprinkled with small metallic-blue spots; female wingspan 50-60 mm, male wingspan 35-40 mm.
Light yellow to bright salmon pink, approximately 1 mm long.
Larvae
Larvae are 50 to 60 mm long, bright yellow with numerous small black points on each segment. The head and the thoracic plates are shiny black.
Adults
Thorax is white or grey, hairy with six blueish-black spots; abdomen is relatively long. The wings are white, and are sprinkled with small metallic-blue spots; female wingspan 50-60 mm, male wingspan 35-40 mm.
Distribution Table
Top of pageThe distribution in this summary table is based on all the information available. When several references are cited, they may give conflicting information on the status. Further details may be available for individual references in the Distribution Table Details section which can be selected by going to Generate Report.
Last updated: 10 Feb 2022| Continent/Country/Region | Distribution | Last Reported | Origin | First Reported | Invasive | Reference | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Africa |
|||||||
| Algeria | Present | ||||||
| Egypt | Present | ||||||
| Libya | Present | ||||||
| Morocco | Present | ||||||
Asia |
|||||||
| Iran | Present | ||||||
| Iraq | Present | ||||||
| Israel | Present | ||||||
| Japan | Present | ||||||
| Lebanon | Present | ||||||
| North Korea | Present | ||||||
| Syria | Present | ||||||
| Taiwan | Present | ||||||
| Turkey | Present | ||||||
Europe |
|||||||
| Austria | Present | ||||||
| Belgium | Present | ||||||
| Bulgaria | Present | ||||||
| Cyprus | Present | ||||||
| Czechoslovakia | Present | ||||||
| Federal Republic of Yugoslavia | Present | ||||||
| Union of Soviet Socialist Republics | Present | ||||||
| Denmark | Present | ||||||
| France | Present | ||||||
| Italy | Present | ||||||
| Malta | Present | ||||||
| Netherlands | Present | ||||||
| Norway | Present | ||||||
| Poland | Present | ||||||
| Portugal | Present | ||||||
| Romania | Present | ||||||
| Russia | Present | ||||||
| Spain | Present | ||||||
| Sweden | Present | ||||||
| Switzerland | Present | ||||||
| United Kingdom | Present, Localized | ||||||
North America |
|||||||
| Canada | Present | ||||||
| United States | Present | Introduced | 1882 | ||||
| -Delaware | Present | ||||||
| -Maine | Present | ||||||
| -Pennsylvania | Present | ||||||
| -South Dakota | Present | ||||||
Hosts/Species Affected
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Wood-boring caterpillars of Z. pyrina can affect trees and shrubs, most notably apple and ornamental Malus species. Other hosts include pears, plums, blackcurrant, ash, birch, cherry, cotoneaster, hawthorn, lilac, maple, oak, pear, rhododendron, Sorbus, willows, pomegranate and quince (Gatwick, 1992).
Host Plants and Other Plants Affected
Top of pageSymptoms
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Dead shoot tips appear and leaves on the apical portions of branches discolour prematurely. Infested branches break upon bending, due to the galleries made by caterpillars. Young caterpillars first enter shoots near the tip, and move onto older wood further down the branch when the shoot dies. Entry holes can be recognized by the frass, which resembles pellets of sawdust, and accumulates outside the entry hole for 6-9 months. Sufficient frass may fall on the ground to be a conspicuous symptom of infestation (Gatwick, 1992).
Biology and Ecology
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Adults do not feed and have short lifespans of 8-10 days. In the UK, they are on the wing from mid-June to early August. Females mate soon after emergence and under optimum conditions can lay several hundred eggs, usually deposited in clusters on trees, in cracks or crevices. Gatwick (1992) indicates that in the UK, only one egg is usually laid per tree, minimizing competition between caterpillars.
Embryonic development lasts for 7-23 days. Young caterpillars at first remain clustered in a silken cocoon from which they eventually disperse at dawn or at dusk. They then bore into the tips of branches and shoots, or into young shoots near an axillary bud, and then move downwards to attack younger parts of the tree. Feeding and tunnelling in older wood continue for 2-3 years. When fully grown, usually in late spring, caterpillars are about 50 mm long. After several migrations, the larvae attack the larger branches and the trunk, in which they form ascending galleries under the bark, then in the wood. Larval entry holes are marked by sap outflows, sawdust and frass (in the shape of small cylinders).
In France, the life cycle lasts 2 years, adults appearing from the beginning of June to August and pupation occurring from April to July. Young caterpillars attached to silk threads can be carried by the wind; this mode of dispersal is often predominant in young orchards and on trees situated close to hedges and thickets. In spring, larvae continue boring galleries only in the wood, often in the centre of the branch.
Embryonic development lasts for 7-23 days. Young caterpillars at first remain clustered in a silken cocoon from which they eventually disperse at dawn or at dusk. They then bore into the tips of branches and shoots, or into young shoots near an axillary bud, and then move downwards to attack younger parts of the tree. Feeding and tunnelling in older wood continue for 2-3 years. When fully grown, usually in late spring, caterpillars are about 50 mm long. After several migrations, the larvae attack the larger branches and the trunk, in which they form ascending galleries under the bark, then in the wood. Larval entry holes are marked by sap outflows, sawdust and frass (in the shape of small cylinders).
In France, the life cycle lasts 2 years, adults appearing from the beginning of June to August and pupation occurring from April to July. Young caterpillars attached to silk threads can be carried by the wind; this mode of dispersal is often predominant in young orchards and on trees situated close to hedges and thickets. In spring, larvae continue boring galleries only in the wood, often in the centre of the branch.
Natural enemies
Top of page| Natural enemy | Type | Life stages | Specificity | References | Biological control in | Biological control on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bacillus thuringiensis | Pathogen | Arthropods|Larvae | ||||
| Bacillus thuringiensis galleriae | Pathogen | Arthropods|Larvae | ||||
| Bacillus thuringiensis thuringiensis | Pathogen | Arthropods|Larvae | ||||
| Beauveria bassiana | Pathogen | |||||
| Cheiracanthium mildei | Predator | |||||
| Copidosoma truncatellum | Parasite | Eggs | ||||
| Diadegma terebrans | Parasite | |||||
| Dolichogenidea laevigata | Parasite | Arthropods|Larvae | Israel; Syria | apples; Ulmus | ||
| Dolichogenidea phaloniae | Parasite | Arthropods|Larvae | Israel | Ulmus | ||
| Dolichomitus messor | Parasite | |||||
| Hirsutella thompsonii | Pathogen | |||||
| Megaselia praecusta | Parasite | |||||
| Metarhizium anisopliae | Pathogen | |||||
| Nemorilla maculosa | Parasite | Arthropods|Larvae | ||||
| Neoxorides nitens | Parasite | |||||
| Pristomerus vulnerator | Parasite | |||||
| Steinernema carpocapsae | Parasite | |||||
| Steinernema feltiae | Parasite |
Impact
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Z. pyrina is one of the most important pests of apple and pear orchards in Mediterranean regions. It can also be a serious pest of olive. On young trees, one caterpillar is enough to kill a tree, whereas 3-year-old trees can become extremely vulnerable to wind damage due to damage of the central axis. Older trees can be severely damaged, particularly in dry years and on dry ground. In the UK, damage caused by Z. pyrina tends to be more severe following hot, dry summers (Gatwick, 1992). Trees weakened by leopard moth attacks are more susceptible to damage from other xylophagous pests, such as the goat moth (Cossus cossus), hornet clearwing moth (Synanthedon myopaeformis) and bark beetles. The woolly aphid (Eriosoma lanigerum) can use old larval galleries of Z. pyrina as a refuge, enabling them to evade chemical treatments.
References
Top of pageCDA, 1988. Plant Protection - Entomology. Annual Report of the Department of Agriculture for the year 1987. Nicosia, Cyprus: Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, 37-40
CIE, 1973. Distribution Maps of Plant Pests, No. 24. Wallingford, UK: CAB International
Gratwick, 1992. Crop pests in the UK. Collected edition of MAFF leaflets. London, UK: Chapman & Hall, 126-127
Talhouk AS, 1950a. A list of insects observed on economically important plants and plant products in Lebanon. Bull. Review of Applied Entomology (A), 40:136
Talhouk AS, 1950b. A list of insects observed on plants of economic importance in Syria. Bull. Soc. Fouad. Ier. Ent., 38:305-309
Distribution References
CABI, Undated. Compendium record. Wallingford, UK: CABI
CABI, Undated a. CABI Compendium: Status as determined by CABI editor. Wallingford, UK: CABI
CDA, 1988. Plant Protection - Entomology. In: Annual Report of the Department of Agriculture for the year 1987, Nicosia, Cyprus: Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources. 37-40.
Gratwick, 1992. Crop pests in the UK. Collected edition of MAFF leaflets., London, UK: Chapman & Hall. 126-127.
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