Which pest is characterized by a silvery colored moth and late-winter yellowing and browning of infested tips?

Which pest is characterized by a silvery colored moth and late-winter yellowing and browning of infested tips?

• A. Cypress tip moth
• B. Mountain pine beetle
• C. Douglas fir beetle
• D. Western spruce budworm

Answer: (A)

The pest is defined by two linked clues: the adult appearance and the distinctive winter damage. A small, silvery colored moth is characteristic of the Cypress tip moth, and its larvae feed in the tips of cypress, causing those tips to yellow and brown in late winter as the damaged tissue dies back. That combination—silvery moth and late-winter yellowing/browning of infested tips—is a clear, specific indicator of Cypress tip moth. The other pests don’t match that pattern. Bark beetles like mountain pine beetle and Douglas-fir beetle attack under the bark and produce signs such as pitch tubes and boring galleries, not the winter tip dieback described. Western spruce budworm causes defoliation during the growing season, not the late-winter tip browning of shoots.

The pest is defined by two linked clues: the adult appearance and the distinctive winter damage. A small, silvery colored moth is characteristic of the Cypress tip moth, and its larvae feed in the tips of cypress, causing those tips to yellow and brown in late winter as the damaged tissue dies back. That combination—silvery moth and late-winter yellowing/browning of infested tips—is a clear, specific indicator of Cypress tip moth.

The other pests don’t match that pattern. Bark beetles like mountain pine beetle and Douglas-fir beetle attack under the bark and produce signs such as pitch tubes and boring galleries, not the winter tip dieback described. Western spruce budworm causes defoliation during the growing season, not the late-winter tip browning of shoots.