Common NameWestern PeroSeasonalityAdults fly in Alberta throughout June.IdentificationVery similar to P. honestaria and behrensaria, but according to McGuffin (1987) this is the only Canadian Pero with slightly dentate or pectinate rather than simple male antennae.
Scientific NamePero occidentalisCommon Name
Western Pero
Habitat
Open montane woodlands.
Seasonality
Adults fly in Alberta throughout June.
Identification
Very similar to P. honestaria and behrensaria, but according to McGuffin (1987) this is the only Canadian Pero with slightly dentate or pectinate rather than simple male antennae.
Life History
Caterpillars are light grey and brown with several short tubercles, and mimic twigs in posture and colouration. The pupa overwinters. The eggs are laid in a neat row along the host foliage, as in other Pero species …
Caterpillars are light grey and brown with several short tubercles, and mimic twigs in posture and colouration. The pupa overwinters. The eggs are laid in a neat row along the host foliage, as in other Pero species (McGuffin 1987).
Conservation
Not of concern.
Diet Info
Miller & Hamond (2000) state that larvae feed primarily on pines and other conifers, But this species was not recorded from conifers by Prentice (1963), and McGuffin (9187) lists only lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta)…
Miller & Hamond (2000) state that larvae feed primarily on pines and other conifers, But this species was not recorded from conifers by Prentice (1963), and McGuffin (9187) lists only lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) along with deciduous shrubs (Menziesia glabella, Sheperdia canadensis, and Ceanothus).
Range
Southern BC and the AB mountains (south of the Athabasca River) south to CA (McGuffin 1987).
//Citation and Rights Box - in-page ?>
Citation
//Citation and Rights Drawer - slide out ?>
Page Citation for Pero occidentalis
Page Citation
"Species Details - Pero occidentalis, University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum." University of Alberta Museums Search Site, https://search.museums.ualberta.ca/g/2-4472. Accessed 25 Mar. 2023.
//Taxonomy Box - in-page ?>
Taxonomic Hierarchy
KingdomAnimaliaPhylumArthropodaClassHexapodaSubclassInsectaOrderLepidopteraSuborderDitrysiaSuperfamilyGeometroideaFamilyGeometridaeSubfamilyEnnominaeTribeAzelininiGenusPeroSpeciesPero occidentalis
This hierarchy is created from our museum records, it may not always accurately reflect modern taxonomies.
//Taxonomy Drawer - slide out ?>
Taxonomic Hierarchy for University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum