Spruce Bud Moth

Zeiraphera ratzeburgiana

This record describes Zeiraphera ratzeburgiana (species). Recorded family: Tortricidae. Recorded order: Lepidoptera.

Identification and Appearance

Spruce Bud Moth - Zeiraphera ratzeburgiana

Wingspan 12 to 15 mm. An attractive tawny and black marbled moth, named after J.T.C Ratzeburg, a German entomologist. The adults fly in July and August from sunset into the night. The larvae feed on the young shoots of various coniferous trees. It is distributed throughout much of the British Isles, but can be local in most places. In the Butterfly Conservation's Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as local.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Tortricidae
Genus: Zeiraphera

Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.

Habitat and Range

Habitat

Associated with conifers.

Seasonal Activity

The adults fly in July and August from sunset into the night.

Diet and Behavior

Life History

The larvae feed on the young shoots of various coniferous trees.

Additional species information

Recorded status

It is distributed throughout much of the British Isles, but can be local in most places. In the Butterfly Conservation's Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as local.

About Butterflies and Moths: the wider group

Order-level background for Lepidoptera, the group containing Zeiraphera ratzeburgiana. Species-specific details appear above.

Group overview

Lepidoptera includes approximately 180,000 described species of butterflies and moths. Moths outnumber butterflies roughly 10:1. The monarch butterfly's eastern population has declined by more than 80% since the mid-1990s, and the western population by over 95% since the 1980s. The IUCN lists the migratory monarch as Vulnerable.

Ecological role of the group

Butterflies and moths are essential indicators of ecosystem health. As caterpillars, they are a primary food source for birds - a single nest of blue tit chicks requires ~10,000 caterpillars. Adult moths pollinate many night-blooming plants.

Economic and practical significance of the group

Lepidoptera are critical pollinators. In Europe, grassland butterfly species have declined by almost 50% since the early 1990s. In the UK, three-quarters of butterflies are in decline. In the U.S., five butterfly species have gone extinct since 1950, with 29 listed as endangered.

Recorded sources for this group: IUCN Red List, Xerces Society, USFWS, PNAS, WWF. Imported estimates may describe particular regions or reporting periods.

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