Spruce-pest
Guides
Dioryctria reniculelloides
spruce coneworm, Spruce Coneworm Moth
Dioryctria reniculelloides, the spruce coneworm, is a small pyralid moth first described in 1973. Its populations frequently coincide with spruce budworm outbreaks across North American spruce forests. The species is occasionally abundant and can become a serious pest, particularly on white spruce, where larvae feed on new foliage and cones.
Epinotia nanana
European spruce needleminer, green spruce leaf miner, green spruce needle miner
Epinotia nanana is a small tortricid moth whose larvae are specialized needle miners of spruce trees. Native to Europe and Asia, it has been introduced to North America where it has become a pest of ornamental and forest spruce. The species has a univoltine life cycle with larvae overwintering in mined needles and completing development the following spring. Larval feeding creates distinctive silken webbing that secures mined needles to twigs.
Pineus similis
Ragged Spruce Gall Adelgid
Pineus similis is a gall-forming adelgid that induces galls on spruce trees (Picea spp.). Originally described as Chermes similis by Gillette in 1907 from blue spruce in Colorado, it was later transferred to genus Pineus by Annand. The species produces winged females that emerge from galls and settle on spruce hosts, with documented preference for white spruce. Wingless females bearing egg clusters occur within galls. It has been recorded on multiple spruce species across North America and has doubtful or rare records in Europe.
Tetropium fuscum
Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle
Tetropium fuscum is a wood-boring cerambycid beetle native to Europe and Northern Asia, established as an invasive species in Atlantic Canada since at least 1990. The species is a documented pest of spruce trees (Picea spp.), with larvae developing in the phloem of host trees. Adult males produce an aggregation pheromone called fuscumol that attracts both sexes, particularly when combined with host tree volatiles. In its introduced Canadian range, it has been observed infesting stressed and moribund red spruce, with larval galleries sometimes girdling stems and causing tree mortality.