The Pandora moth or Pandora pinemoth (''Coloradia pandora'') is an insect belonging to the

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

genus ''

Coloradia ''Coloradia'' is a genus of moths of the family Saturniidae. There are nine described species found in Mexico and eastern North America. The genus was first described by C. A. Blake in 1863. These are generally large moths, predominantly grey in ...

''. The species was first described by C. A. Blake in 1863. It is native to the western United States. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e of the Pandora moth feed on the foliage of several species of

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

trees, including the lodgepole, Jeffrey, and ponderosa pines. The larvae populations sometimes reach high enough levels to cause severe defoliation; such outbreaks have occurred in northern

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, central

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, and southern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The

Paiute Paiute (; also Piute) refers to three non-contiguous groups of indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, these three groups do not form a single set. The term "Pai ...

people in California's

Owens Valley Owens Valley (Numic Numic is a branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. It includes seven languages spoken by Native American peoples traditionally living in the Great Basin, Colorado River basin, Snake River basin, and southern Great Pl ...

and

Mono Lake Mono Lake ( ) is a saline soda lake in Mono County, California, formed at least 760,000 years ago as a terminal lake in an endorheic basin. The lack of an outlet causes high levels of salts to accumulate in the lake which make its water alk ...

areas harvest, prepare, and store the larvae (which they call ''piuga'') as a preferred food. This has brought the natives into conflict with the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

, which has sought to control moth populations through the use of

insecticide Insecticides are substances used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and by consumers. Insecticides are claimed to b ...

Life cycle

Pandora moths are semivoltine, producing one new generation every two years. Around the end of June, the adult moths appear; they lay eggs which hatch in August. Over the winter, the larvae remain on the tree, feeding on its foliage. The following summer, the insects drop off the trees and

pupate A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

, burying themselves in the ground, where they will remain for a year (or, in some areas, 2–4 years), until they emerge as adult moths.

Human use

The

s (''Nüümü)'' of California's

(''Payahuunadü'') and

(''Kootza Paatsehota)'' harvest, prepare, store, and eat the larvae of the Pandora moth, which they call ''piuga'' or ''piagü''. The larvae are collected at their most mature stage, during their July migration to the forest floor at the end of their first year of life. They are gathered by hand once or twice a day, and temporarily stored in trenches in the ground. The larvae are then roasted in fire-heated sand for 30 minutes; the sand not only cooks the insects but also serves to remove the fine hairs, the

setae In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. Th ...

, from their bodies. The cooked larvae are washed, sorted, and dried. Stored in a cool and dry place, they keep for at least a year and perhaps as long as two. The dried ''piuga'' are reconstituted before consumption by boiling for about an hour in plain or salted water. The boiled insects have an odor described as like that of cooked

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...

s. They are eaten as a finger food; the entire larva is eaten except for the head. The cooking water is also consumed as broth, or used as a base for a ''piuga''-and-vegetable stew.

Gallery

Image:Coloradia_pandora_eggs.jpg, Eggs Image:Coloradia pandora larva.jpg, Larva Image:Coloradia_pandora_larva1.jpg, Larva Image:Coloradia_pandora_pupa.jpg, Pupa Image:Coloradia pandora adult1.jpg, Adult Image:Coloradia_pandora_adult_female_(top)_-_male_(bottom).jpg, Adult female (top) and male (bottom)

References

*
Chapter 9: Non-wood products from organisms associated with conifers
Retrieved November 6, 2006. {{Taxonbar, from=Q3542275 Hemileucinae Moths described in 1863 Edible insects