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Pandora moth

Coloradia pandora

53 host plants

Last updated

Data Coverage 1 of 6 dimensions
Host Plants
GDD Threshold
Peak Activity
Damage Severity
Monitoring
Regional Notes

You will see clusters of caterpillars with dark bodies and long spiny hairs feeding on pine needles in spring and early summer. Larvae are gregarious when young, becoming solitary as they mature. Damage appears as defoliated branch tips and browning needles. Adult moths emerge in mid-summer. Multiple pine species suffer damage including lodgepole pine and western white pine in Eastern Washington and mountain regions.

Pandora moth occasionally reaches outbreak levels in forest settings but rarely causes landscape damage. Monitor for defoliation on small planted pines. Hand-remove larval clusters when present. No chemical treatment is typically warranted. Prune severely defoliated branches. Natural parasites help control outbreaks.

Quick Reference

Order
Lepidoptera
Type
defoliator
Host Plants
53

Cultural Controls

  • Remove and destroy larvae by hand to control minor infestations.
  • It may be necessary to prune to improve the appearance of severely defoliated trees.

Host Plants (53)

Agathis australis Kauri Tāne Mahuta, Kauri Pine Araucaria araucana Monkey Puzzle Tree, Chilean Pine Araucaria bidwillii Bunya Pine Araucaria cunninghamii Hoop Pine, Moreton Bay Pine Araucaria heterophylla Norfolk Island Pine Athrotaxis laxifolia Tasmanian Pencil Pine, Summit Cedar Cephalotaxus harringtonia Japanese Plum Yew, Cow's Tail Pine Glyptostrobus pensilis Chinese Swamp Cypress, Water Pine Water Fir Shui song Microcachrys tetragona Creeping Pine, Creeping Strawberry Pine Pinus albicaulis Whitebark Pine, Scrub Pine, White Pine Pinus aristata Bristlecone Pine, Rocky Mountain Bristlecone Interior Bristlecone Pinus attenuata Knobcone Pine Pinus banksiana Jack Pine, Scrub Pine, Banksian Pine, Hudson Bay Pine Pinus bungeana Lacebark Pine, Whitebark Pine, Baipi Song Pinus canariensis Canary Island Pine Pinus cembra Swiss Stone Pine Pinus contorta Lodgepole Pine Pinus contorta var. contorta Shore Pine Pinus contorta var. latifolia Rocky Mountain Lodgepole Pine Pinus coulteri Coulter Pine, Bigcone Pine Pinus densiflora Japanese Red Pine Pinus edulis Pinyon Pine, Piñón Pine, Two-needle Pinyon Colorado Pinyon Pinus elliottii Slash Pine, Swamp Pine Pinus flexilis Limber Pine, Rocky Mountain White Pine Pinus halepensis Aleppo Pine, Jerusalem Pine Pinus heldreichii Bosnian Pine, Snakeskin Pine Pinus jeffreyi Jeffrey Pine, Western Yellow Pine, Bull Pine Pinus kwangtungensis Kwangtung Pine, Guangdong Pine Pinus lambertiana Sugar Pine Pinus leucodermis Bosnian Pine Pinus monophylla Singleleaf Pinon Pine, One-leaved Pine Pinus monticola Western White Pine Pinus mugo Mugo Pine Pinus mugo var. pumilio Mugo pine, Dwarf Mugo pine Pinus nigra Austrian Pine Pinus parviflora Japanese White Pine Pinus parvifola Pinus parvifola Pinus pinaster Maritime Pine, Cluster Pine, Turpentine Pine Pinus pinea Italian Stone Pine, Umbrella Pine Pinus ponderosa Ponderosa Pine, Western Yellow Pine Pinus pumila Japanese Stone Pine, Dwarf Siberian Pine Pinus radiata Monterey Pine Pinus resinosa Red Pine Pinus sabiniana Gray Pine, Foothill Pine Pinus strobiformis Southwestern White Pine, Mexican White Pine, Chihuahua White Pine Pinus strobus Eastern White Pine Pinus sylvestris Scots Pine, Scotch Pine Pinus thunbergii Japanese Black Pine Pinus virginiana Virginia Pine, Scrub Pine, Jersey Pine Pinus wallichiana Himalayan Pine, Bhutan Pine Pinus yunnanensis Yunnan Pine Sciadopitys verticillata Japanese Umbrella Pine, Umbrella Pine Wollemia nobilis Wollemi Pine