Classification

Pyraloidea: Pyralidae: Phycitinae: Apomyelois ceratoniae (Zeller)

Common name

carob moth, locust bean moth

Synonyms

Ectomyelois ceratoniae, Myelois durandi, Euzophera zellerella, Heterographis rivulalis, Hypsipyla psarella, Myelois oporedestella, Myelois phoenicis, Myelois tuerckheimella, Phycis ceratoniella, Phycita dentilinella, Trachonitis pryerella

Apomyelois ceratoniae is referred to as Ectomyelois ceratoniae in most USDA documents and databases. Leraut (2002)Leraut (2002):
Leraut, P. 2002. Contribution a l'etude des Phycitinae (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae). Nouvelle Revue d'Entomologie 19: 141-177. synonymized Ectomyelois with Apomyelois, thus the current generic name is Apomyelois.

Larval diagnosis (Detailed)

The larvalarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
of the carob moth, Apomyelois ceratoniae, was described in detail by Aitken (1963)Aitken (1963):
Aitken, A. D. 1963. A key to the larvae of some species of Phycitinae (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) associated with stored products, and of some related species. Bulletin of Entomological Research 54: 175-188. and partially illustrated by Weisman (1986)Weisman (1986):
Weisman, D. M. 1986. Keys for the identification of some frequently intercepted lepidopterous larvae. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine series 81-47. 64 pp., Neunzig (1979, 1990), Carter (1984)Carter (1984):
Carter, D. J. 1984. Pest Lepidoptera of Europe with special reference to the British Isles. Dr. W. Junk Publishers. Series Entomologica vol. 31. 431 pp., Passoa (2004)Passoa (2004):
Passoa, S. 2004. Key to larval Lepidoptera likely to be associated with rosaceous tree fruits exported from the northwestern United States to Mexico. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine unpublished training aid. 19 pp., Gonzalez and Cepeda (1999)Gonzalez and Cepeda (1999):
Gonzalez, R. H. and D. Cepeda. 1999. Polilla del algarrobo, Spectrobates ceratoniae (Zeller) (Lep., Pyralidae), una barrera al control de carpocapsa en nogales mediante confusion sexual. Revista Fruticola 20: 57-67., Solis (1999, 2011), and Schnitzler et al. (2012)Schnitzler et al. (2012):
Schnitzler, F. R., J. W. Haw, L. Kumarasinghe and S. George. 2012. Identification Guide to Lepidoptera Larvae Intercepted on Trade Pathways. Bulletin of the Entomological Society of New Zealand 15. 105 pp.. Gonzalez and Cepeda (1999)Gonzalez and Cepeda (1999):
Gonzalez, R. H. and D. Cepeda. 1999. Polilla del algarrobo, Spectrobates ceratoniae (Zeller) (Lep., Pyralidae), una barrera al control de carpocapsa en nogales mediante confusion sexual. Revista Fruticola 20: 57-67. illustrated the larvalarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
in color. Black and white photographs of the last instar larvalarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
or damage were given by Balachowsky (1972)Balachowsky (1972):
Balachowsky, A. S. 1972. Entomologie appliquee a l'agriculture. Masson et Cie. Paris, France. 575 pp., Neunzig (1979)Neunzig (1979):
Neunzig, H. H. 1979. Systematics of immature Phycitines (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) associated with leguminous plants in the Southern United States. U. S. Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletin 1589. 119 pp., and Passoa (1985)Passoa (1985):
Passoa, S. 1985. Taxonomy of the larvae and pupae of economically important Pyralidae in Honduras. Master's Thesis. University of Florida. Gainesville. 486 pp..

Typically, most authors (Weisman 1986Weisman 1986:
Weisman, D. M. 1986. Keys for the identification of some frequently intercepted lepidopterous larvae. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine series 81-47. 64 pp., Neunzig 1979Neunzig 1979:
Neunzig, H. H. 1979. Systematics of immature Phycitines (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) associated with leguminous plants in the Southern United States. U. S. Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletin 1589. 119 pp., Passoa 2004Passoa 2004:
Passoa, S. 2004. Key to larval Lepidoptera likely to be associated with rosaceous tree fruits exported from the northwestern United States to Mexico. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine unpublished training aid. 19 pp., Solis 1999Solis 1999:
Solis, M. A. 1999. Key to selected Pyraloidea (Lepidoptera) larvae intercepted at U.S. ports of entry: revision of Pyraloidea in "Keys to some frequently intercepted lepidopterous larvae" by D. M. Weisman 1986. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 101: 645-686., 2011) have diagnosed A. ceratoniae with the following characters: adfrontal area reaches the epicranial notchepicranial notch:
the V-shaped dorsomedial space delimited laterally by the cranial halves
(the epicranial sutureepicranial suture:
an inverted Y-shaped suture on face of head with arms diverging ventrad; the suture that separates the epicranial halves on the dorsum of the head
is absent); the sclerotizedsclerotized:
hardened and tanned, so that it is yellow to black in color
rings around SD1 of A1-7 are in an arc or crescent shape and well separated from their setal base; the sclerotizedsclerotized:
hardened and tanned, so that it is yellow to black in color
ring around SD1 of A8 is usually complete; SD2 is separated from the spiracle of A8 by at least two times the spiracle's diameter; and anal shieldanal shield:
the dorsal shieldlike covering of the last abdominal segment (= anal plate)
with SD1 closer to D1 than L1.

Apomyelois ceratoniae is most likely to be confused with Amyelois transitella (navel orangeworm) because both species have SD1 rings or ring fragments (see Neunzig 1990Neunzig 1990:
Neunzig, H. H. 1990. Pyraloidea, Pyralidae (part). In R. B. Dominick et al. (eds.). The moths of America north of Mexico. Fascicle 15.3. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation. 165 pp.: fig. 19 a, b) and the sensilla styloconica of the maxillaemaxilla:
the paired mouthparts posterior to the mandibles
are simple instead of being forked (Neunzig 1979Neunzig 1979:
Neunzig, H. H. 1979. Systematics of immature Phycitines (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) associated with leguminous plants in the Southern United States. U. S. Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletin 1589. 119 pp.). Important characters for A. transitella include a series of sclerotizedsclerotized:
hardened and tanned, so that it is yellow to black in color
rings around SD1 of A1-7 that touch the setal base, with a variable shape from arcs to smudges to a thin band that can be difficult to see. In addition, the sclerotizedsclerotized:
hardened and tanned, so that it is yellow to black in color
ring around SD1 of A8 is usually incomplete, SD2 is separated from the spiracle of A8 by less than two times the spiracle's diameter, and the anal shieldanal shield:
the dorsal shieldlike covering of the last abdominal segment (= anal plate)
has SD1 equidistant from D1 and L1.

Two rarer species of Apomyelois from the Neotropics, A. decolor and A. muriscis, were studied by Aitkin (1963). His diagnosis is summarized here. Apomyelois muriscis has pale rings, forcing Aitkin (1963) to warn this species is hardly recognizable as a Phycitinae. It feeds on cocoa pods and Mammea in the Neotropics. Apomyelois decolor has dark half SD1 rings on A1-7, small dark body pinaculapinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
, and a pigmented anal shieldanal shield:
the dorsal shieldlike covering of the last abdominal segment (= anal plate)
. This differs from A. ceratoniae that has paler SD1 rings, less obvious body pinaculapinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
, and a pale anal shieldanal shield:
the dorsal shieldlike covering of the last abdominal segment (= anal plate)
. There are also minor differences in the position of the SV setaeseta:
a hairlike projection of the body wall that is articulated in a socket; compare to spine
on A3-6. The hosts of A. decolor are similar to those of A. ceratoniae.

Identification Authority (Detailed)

Origin is sometimes helpful. Apomyelois ceratoniae occurs in Mediterranean Europe, North Africa, parts of Asia, and the tropical regions of the New World (Neunzig 1990Neunzig 1990:
Neunzig, H. H. 1990. Pyraloidea, Pyralidae (part). In R. B. Dominick et al. (eds.). The moths of America north of Mexico. Fascicle 15.3. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation. 165 pp.). The distribution of A. transitella is restricted to the southern United States and the Neotropics (Neunzig 1990Neunzig 1990:
Neunzig, H. H. 1990. Pyraloidea, Pyralidae (part). In R. B. Dominick et al. (eds.). The moths of America north of Mexico. Fascicle 15.3. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation. 165 pp.). Thus, Old World origins are not A. transitella. Apomyelois ceratoniae tends to prefer carob and tamarind pods, although it has a wide host range (Neunzig 1979Neunzig 1979:
Neunzig, H. H. 1979. Systematics of immature Phycitines (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) associated with leguminous plants in the Southern United States. U. S. Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletin 1589. 119 pp.). There is one record of A. ceratoniae associated with limacodid cocoons (Cock et al. 1987).

Neunzig (1979, 1990) warned that the SD1 pinaculapinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
rings around A1-7 may be hard to see in pale specimens of either species. The presence or absence of the epicranial sutureepicranial suture:
an inverted Y-shaped suture on face of head with arms diverging ventrad; the suture that separates the epicranial halves on the dorsum of the head
can be helpful in deciding if A. ceratoniae is a possibility. Another option is to make a whole mount of the larvalarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
.

Solis (1999, 2011) noted that New World interceptions should be reported as "prob. E. decolor." This implies that A. ceratoniae is the rarer of the two species. This might be true for some countries. Another option is to use the diagnosis by Aitkin (1963) or stop at genus if the characters are ambiguous. This can be decided based on host, local pest literature, or the condition of the specimen, on a case by case basis.

Origin records

Genus species has been intercepted from the following locations:

Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cote D'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guyana, Hawaii, Honduras, Hong Kong (?), India, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Macedonia, Mexico, Middle East (country unknown), Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, South Korea, Spain, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain and N. Ireland, US Virgin Islands, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zimbabwe

Host records

Genus species has been intercepted on the following hosts:

Adansonia digitata, Anacardium occidentale, Annona cherimola, Annona sp., Annonaceae, Cajanus cajan, Capsicum annuum, Capsicum sp., Carya illinoinensis, Cassia sp., Castanea sativa, Citrus paradisi, Citrus sinensis, Citrus sp., Corylus avellana, Cucurbita maxima, Cydonia oblonga, Cydonia sp., Dialium guineense, Dialium ovoideum, Dialium sp., Dioscorea hispida, Dioscorea sp., Diospyros sp., Fabaceae, Ficus carica, Ficus sp., Garcinia mangostana, Juglans regia, Juglans sp., Lawsonia sp., Malus domestica, Malus sp., Malus sylvestris, Mangifera indica, Mangifera sp., Melicoccus bijugatus, Moringa oleifera, Moringa sp., Musa paradisiaca, Oryza sativa, Passiflora edulis, Phaseolus sp., Phaseolus vulgaris, Phoenix dactylifera, Phoenix sp., Pithecellobium dulce, Pithecellobium sp., Prunus americana, Prunus domestica, Prunus persica, Prunus serotina, Prunus sp., Psidium guajava, Psidium sp., Punica granatum, Punica sp., Pyrus pyrifolia, Pyrus sp., Quercus sp., Saccharum officinarum, Swietenia sp., Tagetes lucida, Tamarindus indica, Tamarindus sp., Tetrapleura sp., Tetrapleura tetraptera, Vigna sp., Vigna unguiculata, Zea mays, Ziziphus jujuba, Ziziphus sp.