A genus of moths whose larvae are major forest pests, particularly the spruce budworm, known for devastating coniferous forests.
From Greek 'choristos' (separated) and 'neura' (nerve), named for the wing pattern. This genus was formally described in the 1800s during systematic entomology's expansion.
Choristoneura fumiferana, the spruce budworm, has caused some of the largest insect outbreaks in North America—in the 1970s-80s, it defoliated an area the size of Montana!
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