Feathered Thorn vs Spruce Budworm

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Feathered Thorn Spruce Budworm
Scientific Name Colotois pennaria Choristoneura fumiferana
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Geometridae Tortricidae
Size 40-50 mm wingspan 20-28 mm wingspan
Habitat Underground Forests
Diet Herbivores Omnivores
Regions Europe, western Asia North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Feathered Thorn

An autumn-flying moth with warm orange-brown wings and males bearing dramatically feathered antennae. It flies late in the year when few other moths are active.

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Did You Know?

Males use their enormous feathered antennae to detect female pheromones on cold autumn nights.

Spruce Budworm

A small mottled grey-brown moth that is the most destructive forest pest in North America. Outbreaks can kill millions of hectares of spruce and fir forest.

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Did You Know?

A single outbreak in the 1970s-80s damaged more timber than all forest fires in Canada combined.