KEYS    About TortAI    Fact Sheets    Glossary    ID Thumbnails    DNA Search    Dissection Guides Ecdytolopha insiticiana << Previous Next >> CAPS Non-target - Adult Ecdytolopha insiticiana Zeller (Tortricidae: Olethreutinae: Grapholitini) Common names: locust twig borer Fig. 1: Male Fig. 1: Male Fig. 2: Female Fig. 2: Female Fig. 3: Female Fig. 3: Female Fig. 4: Male genitalia Fig. 4: Male genitalia Fig. 5: Female genitalia Fig. 5: Female genitalia Fig. 6: Larva Fig. 6: Larva Adult Recognition FWL: 9.0-13.5 mm Forewings are dark brown basally and light gray or white apically with a dark-brown mark on the dorsum near the tornus. Male genitalia are characterized by a rounded tegumen, long valvae, and deciduous cornuti in the vesica. Female genitalia are characterized by a deep invagination of sternum VII where the ostium is located, two signa in the corpus bursae, and a sclerotized patch near the junction of the corpus bursae and ductus bursae. Ecdytolopha insiticiana appears similar to other members of the genus. Males can be separated from other Ecdytolopha species by a hair pencil in a narrow concavity on the anal margin of the hindwing. Females can be separated by genitalic characters; see Adamski and Brown (2001) for keys to females. Larval Morphology Late instar larvae are approximately 15-18 mm long with a pinkish-red abdomen and large, conspicuous pinacula. The head and prothoracic shield is yellowish or reddish brown and may have faint mottling. An anal comb is absent. Other laval characters include: prothoracic L-pinaculum subrectangular; D2s on A8 on same pinaculum; and SV setal counts on A1,2,7,8,9 as 3:3:3:2:2. Larvae are similar to other species in the Cryptophlebia-Ecdytolopha group, with an enlarged L-pinaculum on the prothorax that extends beneath (and usually beyond) the spiracle. Larvae of Gymnandrosoma can be separated from those of Ecdytolopha by the distance between the V setae on A9: approximately the same as the distance between Vs on A8 in Ecdytolopha and 1.2-2.0 times the distance between Vs on A8 in Gymnandrosoma. Biology Ecdytolopha insiticiana completes a single annual generation in the North and two annual generations in the South. Adults are present May-June, and again in July-September for the second generation. Females lay eggs on news shoots of the host. Larvae bore into new growth and induce the formation of elongate galls. Larvae complete seven instars. Those of the last generation leave the gall and overwinter in flattened cocoons constructed in leaf litter. Pupation occurs in the spring. Host plants The primary larval host is black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia). This species can be a pest in nurseries and plantations, causing disfiguration of trees. Family Genus/species Common name Fabaceae Robinia L. locust Fabaceae Robinia pseudoacacia L. black locust Fabaceae Wisteria Nutt. wisteria Distribution Ecdytolopha insiticiana is widely distributed in the continental U.S. and southern Canada, although it is more common in the East. References Adamski, D. and J. W. Brown. 2001. Systematic revision of the Ecdytolopha group of genera (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae: Grapholitini) in the New World. Entomologica Scandinavica Supplement 58. 86 pp. Gilligan, T. M., D. J. Wright and L. D. Gibson. 2008. Olethreutine moths of the midwestern United States, an identification guide. Ohio Biological Survey, Columbus, Ohio. 334 pp. Harman, D. M. and C. W. Berisford. 1979. Host relationships and determination of larval instars of the locust twig borer Ecdytolopha insiticiana. Environmental Entomology. 8: 19-23. Solomon, J. D. 1995. Guide to insect borers in North American broadleaf trees and shrubs. Forest Service Agriculture Handbook AH-706, USDA, Washington, D. C. 735 pp. Tortricids of Agricultural Importance by Todd M. Gilligan and Marc E. Epstein Interactive Keys developed in Lucid 3.5. Last updated August 2014.