Elder Shoot Borer(Achatodes zeae)Latin Name: Achatodes zeae
Common Name: Elder Shoot Borer or Spindle worms
Appearance:
Spindle worms, commonly known as the larval stage of the elder shoot borer (Achatodes zeae), will soon be apparent on elderberry plants in Missouri.
Egg:
Eggs are round and somewhat flattened. Surface roughened and pebblelike around periphery
Smooth and glossy in the center. eggs change from white to tan soon after deposition
Larva
Larvae are yellowish-white with blackhead and thoracic and anal shield .pinacula (hardened areas that indicate points of muscle attachment)with thoracic legs and spiracles
Adults:
Adults are about 28 to 34 wingspan robust reddish-brown. They have hairy body .forewings rusty red and mottled with gray with a brownish-yellow spot near tips . their head and thorax reddish, mixed with yellow
Host plants:
Various species of elder, particularly golden elder. Corn and dahlia are rarely known to be attack by the elder shoot borer.
Territory:
Eastern North America.
Damage caused by Elder Shoot Borer:
The young canes are tunnelled by larvae, causing them to die back in late spring. They have black stripes on the head, first, and final body segments and are yellowish. They grow to be about 1 and 1 1/2 inches long when fully mature. Adults have rusty red wings speckled with gray and a tawny patch along the wingtip, typical of cutworm-type moths. The wingspan is about one and a quarter inches.
Life history and Habits:
The egg stage of the elder shoot borer spends the winter in an egg mass clinging to the bark of aged canes. The eggs hatch around the new shoots develops, which is usually late April. The immature larvae eat on the expanding leaves for many days before digging into the new shoots. They normally stay in their original shoot until food runs out, at which point they will migrate to a new lateral shoot, usually towards the base. Caterpillars live for around six to eight weeks, feeding and developing until pupating late June or early July. Pupation can occur within the injured shoot, although it’s more common on the ground or in the pithy middle of dead, dry branches. In July, the adults appear. Females deposit their eggs in aged canes with loose bark. Eggs are laid in masses of about 18 eggs on average, and multiple egg masses may be produced. The eggs do not hatch until the spring of the following year. Every year, a new generation is born.
