Meet the linden bark-borer moth

An insect that was introduced into the U.S. in 1928 finally made its way to Colorado, though I have not seen it yet in our area. There was a sighting of it in Denver where there were several of the moths flying around the linden tree and frass on the ground.  

The linden bark-borer moth, Chrysoclista linneella started its journey from New York. Then it spread to other parts of New York state, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Vermont, southern Ontario and Halifax, Nova Scotia.  In Europe it is prevalent because it is naturally occurring throughout that continent.

This is a new insect for us in Colorado. According to Steve Geist of SavATree Consulting Group in Denver, their contacts have shared that this moth feeds on the bark and does not seem to impact the health of the tree. If you are interested in seeing what this looks like, I recommend going to https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/ and searching linden bark-borer moth. You will see it is a colorful moth with orange and brown markings.

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