Tortricidae

49.301 Pine Resin-gall Moth Retinia resinella (Linnaeus, 1758)

Notable A

Similar species:

Forewing: 7.5 to 10.5mm

Habitats: Conifer plantations and pine woodland.

Habits: The moth has a two year cycle, causing abundance in odd-numbered years. It occasionally comes to light.

Foodplant: The young larva bores into the base of a needle of Scots Pine, Lodgepole Pine or Monterey Pine, then eats a groove along the stem close to the bud whorl. This is then covered with a flimsy web and exuding resin. By autumn a pea sized gall has formed in which the larva overwinters. During the following summer the gall expands up to about three centimetres diameter. In the autumn the larva is full-fed and overwinters in the gall, pupating in the following April.