Moths of North Carolina
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3 NC Records

Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens, 1865) - Spruce Budworm Moth

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Taxonomy
Superfamily: Tortricoidea Family: TortricidaeSubfamily: TortricinaeTribe: ArchipiniP3 Number: 620303.00 MONA Number: 3638.00
Comments: Choristoneura fumiferana is a member of a species complex that includes seven or eight closely related species and numerous biotypes. They all have nearly identical life histories and are best identified by their range and host plants (Lumley and Sperling 2010, 2011; Nealis, 2015).
Species Status: The Spruce Budworm is the most destructive defoliator of conifers in North America, with individual outbreaks often affecting millions of acres of trees. It can be economically devastating where White Spruce and Balsam Fir are grown for wood products.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Immature Stages: Baker (1982)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The head, palps, antennae, and thorax are light brown to brownish gray. The forewing patterning and coloration is highly variable, but typically consists of a mosaic of small clay-colored, fuscous, reddish brown, and gray patches. In some specimens gray patches may predominate, while in others the dark tones prevail. Western forms are often strongly reddish with blackish reticulations. The hindwing is gray. MPG has a nice series that show the various phenotypes that occur across the range.
Wingspan: 21-26 mm for males and 22-30 mm for females (Baker, 1982).
Adult Structural Features: Dang (1992) has detailed descriptions and illustrations of the male genitalia.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The following life history account is based on those of Baker (1982) and Nealis (2015). The adults mate soon after eclosion in mid-summer to late-summer and lay eggs on needles in imbricated masses. The hatchlings emerge in one to two weeks and immediately disperse and find sheltered microhabitats on the host tree. They then spin individual hibernation cocoons, moult, and spend the late summer, autumn, and winter as diapausing second-instar larva. Emergence in the spring occurs before the buds expand, so the larvae subsist by either mining the previous-years’ needles or boring into and feeding on the current-year pollen cones. After a short period of feeding, they move to the ends of branches and bore into the expanding vegetative buds. Later, they feed on the new foliage of developing shoots. When about half-grown, they begin tying the tips of two or more twigs together with silk, forming a small nest. During this period, the old needles are avoided until all of the new ones are eaten or cut through. Pupation occurs near the final feeding site and the adults emerge approximately one week later. The full-grown larvae are dull brown to greenish-brown and are about 20-23 mm long. The head is dark brown, the prothoracic shield is brownish-yellow to dark brown, and the anal shield is brownish-yellow. The body has a set of four whitish dorsal dots on each body segment.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Choristoneura fumiferana is a mostly boreal species that occurs from Alaska and the Yukon Territories eastward across Canada to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. In the US populations occur in northern California and the central and northern Rockies, and in the eastern US primarily from Maine southward through the Appalachian region to western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, and westward to Kentucky, Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, and North Dakota. Scattered records are also known from northern Florida, coastal South Carolina, and northwestern Louisiana. As of 2023, we have only three records, with two from high-elevation sites with spruce or spruce-fir forests, and one from a lower elevation site in Polk County.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge
Flight Comments: The adults typically fly during June, July and early August at northern latitudes, but have been found as early as February in Florida, and in April and May at other southern localities. As of 2023, our very limited records are from late July through mid-August.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Local populations are typically found in forests with spruce and fir. We have one record from a low elevation (4,300') site with a stand of Red Spruce in Watauga County, and a second from a Red Spruce-Fraser Fir forest on Mt. Mitchell. Kearfott (1905) also reported a specimen from Tryon in Polk County from a site with no spruce or fir present.
Larval Host Plants: The larvae are stenophagous and mostly feed on spruce and fir trees, but occasionally on other conifers (Craighead et al., 1950; Schaffner, 1959; MacKay, 1962; Prentice, 1966; Freeman, 1967; Bauce and Carisey, 1996; Fleming, 1996; Mattson et al., 1996; Carisey and Bauce, 1997; Cappuccino et al., 1998; Regniere and Duval, 1998; Retnakaran et al., 1999; Maier et al., 2004; Heppner, 2007; Lumley et al., 2020). White Spruce (Picea glauca) and Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea) are two of the most important hosts, but other conifers are sometimes used, particularly during outbreaks. These include Norway Spruce (P. abies), Engelmann Spruce (P. engelmannii), Black Spruce (P. mariana), Blue Spruce (P. pungens), Red Spruce (P. rubens), Subalpine Fir (Abies lasiocarpa), Eastern Larch (Larix laricina), Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), Western Hemlock (T. heterophylla), Red Pine (Pinus resinosa), Eastern White Pine (P. strobus), and Northern White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis). Our two best documented records are from sites with either Red Spruce or Red Spruce and Fraser Fir. - View
Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights and the larvae are easily observed on the host plants.
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for Spruce-Fir Forests
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 S1S2
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: This species is rare in the state and currently restricted to high-elevation forests with spruce or fir.