Pine Shoot Moth vs Marbled Minor

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Pine Shoot Moth Marbled Minor
Scientific Name Rhyacionia buoliana Oligia strigilis
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Tortricidae Noctuidae
Size 18-24 mm wingspan 24-28 mm wingspan
Habitat Farmland Underground
Diet Omnivores Root Feeders
Regions Europe, Asia, North America (introduced) Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Pine Shoot Moth

A small bright orange moth with silver-grey crosslines on the forewings. Its larvae bore into the terminal shoots of young pine trees, causing deformity.

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Did You Know?

Attacked trees develop a characteristic 'posthorn' bend from the distorted leader shoot.

Marbled Minor

A small, cryptically marked moth that is extremely variable in pattern. Part of a complex of similar-looking species that can only be reliably separated by dissection.

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Did You Know?

Part of a notoriously difficult species complex where three species look almost identical.