KEYS    About TortAI    Fact Sheets    Glossary    ID Thumbnails    DNA Search    Dissection Guides

CAPS Non-target - Adult

Clepsis virescana (Clemens) (Tortricidae: Tortricinae: Archipini)

Synonyms: glaucana (Lozotaenia), sescuplana (Tortrix)

Subspecies: C. virescana salebrosa (Mexico)

Fig. 1: Male

Fig. 1: Male

Fig. 2: Male

Fig. 2: Male

Fig. 3: Male

Fig. 3: Male

Fig. 4: Male genitalia

Fig. 4: Male genitalia

Fig. 5: Female genitalia

Fig. 5: Female genitalia

Adult Recognition

FWL: 6.0-9.0 mm

Forewing color varies from grayish brown to yellow brown. Wing pattern is uniform across most individuals, with a dark costal spot and poorly-defined median fascia. Males have a forewing costal fold. Male genitalia are distinctive with two long cornuti in the aedeagus and a small membranous lobe on the apex of the valva. Females have a long, thornlike signum in the corpus bursae.

Clepsis fucana, C. penetralis, C. peritana, and C. virescana are all similar in appearance. Clepsis fucana is generally larger than the other three species and is found only on the West Coast. Clepsis penetralis has only been recorded from Colorado, Utah, and Vermont, although it may be misidentified in collections making its true distribution unknown. Clepsis peritana is the most commonly collected Clepsis, and it can be found throughout the United States and southern Canada. Clepsis virescana is larger and more boreal than C. peritana and it is not present in the Southeast. The following table lists diagnostic features that can be used to separate these four Clepsis species:

Clepsis species FWL Male forewing costal fold Male valva membranous lobe Female ductus bursae Female signum Distribution
fucana 6.5-10.5 mm absent present as small lobe straight absent West Coast
penetralis 6.0-7.5 mm absent present as moderate lobe weakly twisted absent Unknown; recorded from Colorado, Utah, and Vermont
peritana 4.5-7.5 mm absent absent; entire apex is membranous tightly coiled absent United States and southern Canada
virescana 6.0-9.0 mm present present as small lobe straight present United States and southern Canada; not present in the Southeast

Larval Morphology

Although the larva has not been described, it is assumed to be morphologically similar to larvae of other Clepsis species such as C. peritana and C. fucana.

Biology

Little has been reported on the life history of this species. Adult capture records indicate that C. virescana is bivoltine in central California. Powell (1964) reared larvae on fresh and decaying leaves of Prunus and Rosa and hypothesized that C. virescana may have feeding habits similar to those of C. peritana. In the laboratory, larvae completed development in September and October.

Host plants

The only documented host is western chokecherry, although Powell and Opler (2009) state that the larvae will feed on various soft-leaf plants and decaying leaves.

Family Genus/species Common name
Rosaceae Prunus virginiana L. var. demissa (Nutt.) Torr. western chokecherry

Distribution

Clepsis virescana is widespread throughout the continental United States, southern Canada, and northern Mexico. It is generally found in more boreal conditions than C. peritana and is not present in the southeastern United States.

References

Freeman, T. N. 1958. The Archipinae of North America (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). The Canadian Entomologist Supplement 7 (Vol. 90): 1-89.

Powell, J. A. 1964. Biological and taxonomic studies on tortricine moths, with reference to the species in California. University of California Publications in Entomology. Vol. 32. 317 pp.

Powell, J. A. and P. A. Opler. 2009. Moths of western North America. University of California Press, Berkeley. 369 pp.

Razwoski, J. 1979. Revision of the genus Clepsis Guenee (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae). Part II. Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia. 24: 113-152.

Tortricids of Agricultural Importance by Todd M. Gilligan and Marc E. Epstein
Interactive Keys developed in Lucid 3.5. Last updated August 2014.