Classification

Tortricoidea: Tortricidae: Olethreutinae: Eucosmini: Crocidosema aporema (Walsingham)

Common name

bean shoot moth, bud borer

Synonyms

Epinotia opposita

Larval diagnosis (Detailed)

Brown (2011)Brown (2011):
Brown, J. W. 2011. Tools for identifying the larvae of leafrollers (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) frequently intercepted at U.S. ports of entry. Systematic Entomology Laboratory, PSI, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture c/o National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. 19 pp. divided intercepted tortricid larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
into four "types." Larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
of C. aporema are grouped under the "Olethreutinae type" with D1 and SD1 on the same pinaculumpinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
on A9, the L group on T1 not extending beneath the spiracle, and an anal combanal comb:
the mesal sclerotized prong ventrad of the anal plate and adjacent to the anus; used to eject frass
present. He used the following characters to identify larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
of C. aporema: head with black band extending from postgenal suture to setaseta:
a hairlike projection of the body wall that is articulated in a socket; compare to spine
S2 (= O2); SV group counts 3:3:2:2:2(1); abdominal crochetscrochets:
sclerotized, hooklike structures, usually arranged in rows or circles on the prolegs of Lepidoptera larvae
biordinal, 31-36; whitish with moderately small, pale tan pinaculapinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
; integumentintegument:
the outer body wall (epidermis + cuticle); the "skin"
with conspicuous short spines; primarily on Fabaceae (from Central and South America, Caribbean). Other characters from Brown (2011)Brown (2011):
Brown, J. W. 2011. Tools for identifying the larvae of leafrollers (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) frequently intercepted at U.S. ports of entry. Systematic Entomology Laboratory, PSI, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture c/o National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. 19 pp. include: pinaculapinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
small or moderate, pale or tan; prothoracic and anal shields with or without distinct pattern; L group trisetosetrisetose:
three setae
on A9; SV counts on A1,2,7,8,9 usually less than 3:3:3:2:2.

MacKay (1959)MacKay (1959):
MacKay, M. R. 1959. Larvae of the North American Olethreutidae (Lepidoptera). Canadian Entomologist Supplement 10: 1-338. treated C. aporema in her "Epinotia, Group 5" (as Epinotia opposita). Her diagnostic characters included: head with blackish ocellar area and laterallateral:
to the side, or at the side of
bar on cheek; spinulation of integumentintegument:
the outer body wall (epidermis + cuticle); the "skin"
darker than body color; anal forkanal fork:
see Anal comb
moderately developed; SV group counts 3:3:2:2:2; D1s on the anal shieldanal shield:
the dorsal shieldlike covering of the last abdominal segment (= anal plate)
almost as long as D2s; abdominal crochets uniordinaluniordinal:
crochets arranged so they are of a single length or slightly shorter toward the ends of the row
, partially biordinalbiordinal:
crochets arranged in a single row of alternating lengths
, or biordinalbiordinal:
crochets arranged in a single row of alternating lengths
, 30-40 (MacKay 1959MacKay 1959:
MacKay, M. R. 1959. Larvae of the North American Olethreutidae (Lepidoptera). Canadian Entomologist Supplement 10: 1-338., Fig. 90). Morey (1972)Morey (1972):
Morey, C. 1972. Biologia y morfologia larval de Epinotia aporema (Wals.) (Lepidoptera: Olethreutidae). Boletin Facultad de Agronomia (Montevideo) 123: 1-14. described and illustrated the life stages of C. aporema (as E. aporema) in detail and noted 32 crochetscrochets:
sclerotized, hooklike structures, usually arranged in rows or circles on the prolegs of Lepidoptera larvae
on the abdominal prolegsabdominal prolegs:
all prolegs on any abdominal segment except the last, which are Anal prolegs
. We have examined individuals in which the abdominal crochetscrochets:
sclerotized, hooklike structures, usually arranged in rows or circles on the prolegs of Lepidoptera larvae
are partially triordinaltriordinal:
crochets arranged so the tips are of three alternating lengths
.

There seems to be some confusion as to the identity of Crocidosema larvae intercepted at U.S. ports of entry. The PestID database contains only records of C. aporema along with a few records of "Crocidosema sp." We have examined several of the larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
listed in the database as C. aporema and determined them to be C. plebejana. Crocidosema plebejana is a common cosmopolitan species that feeds primarily on Malvaceae, but it is likely found on plants in other families given its wide distribution. Larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
of the two species are morphologically similar, with one distinct difference: the number of crochetscrochets:
sclerotized, hooklike structures, usually arranged in rows or circles on the prolegs of Lepidoptera larvae
is 13-20 in C. plebejana (Gilligan and Epstein 2012Gilligan and Epstein 2012:
Gilligan, T. M. and M. E. Epstein. 2012. TortAI, Tortricids of Agricultural Importance to the United States (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Identification Technology Program (ITP), USDA-APHIS-PPQ-S&T, Fort Collins, CO., MacKay 1959MacKay 1959:
MacKay, M. R. 1959. Larvae of the North American Olethreutidae (Lepidoptera). Canadian Entomologist Supplement 10: 1-338.) versus 30-40 in C. aporema (Brown 2011Brown 2011:
Brown, J. W. 2011. Tools for identifying the larvae of leafrollers (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) frequently intercepted at U.S. ports of entry. Systematic Entomology Laboratory, PSI, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture c/o National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. 19 pp., Gilligan and Epstein 2012Gilligan and Epstein 2012:
Gilligan, T. M. and M. E. Epstein. 2012. TortAI, Tortricids of Agricultural Importance to the United States (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Identification Technology Program (ITP), USDA-APHIS-PPQ-S&T, Fort Collins, CO., MacKay 1959MacKay 1959:
MacKay, M. R. 1959. Larvae of the North American Olethreutidae (Lepidoptera). Canadian Entomologist Supplement 10: 1-338., Morey 1972Morey 1972:
Morey, C. 1972. Biologia y morfologia larval de Epinotia aporema (Wals.) (Lepidoptera: Olethreutidae). Boletin Facultad de Agronomia (Montevideo) 123: 1-14.).

Larval damage caused by C. aporema on beans is similar to that caused by Ecdytolopha fabivora (formally Cydia fabivora); however, larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
of C. aporema feed primarily on young leaflets while those of E. fabivora feed in the stems and pods. An anal combanal comb:
the mesal sclerotized prong ventrad of the anal plate and adjacent to the anus; used to eject frass
is present in C. aporema but is absent in E. fabivora (Gilligan and Epstein 2012Gilligan and Epstein 2012:
Gilligan, T. M. and M. E. Epstein. 2012. TortAI, Tortricids of Agricultural Importance to the United States (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Identification Technology Program (ITP), USDA-APHIS-PPQ-S&T, Fort Collins, CO.).

Other bean-feeding tortricids in South and Central America include Amorbia, Cydia torostoma, Lusterala phaseolana, and Platynota (Gilligan and Epstein 2012Gilligan and Epstein 2012:
Gilligan, T. M. and M. E. Epstein. 2012. TortAI, Tortricids of Agricultural Importance to the United States (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Identification Technology Program (ITP), USDA-APHIS-PPQ-S&T, Fort Collins, CO.). Amorbia and Platynota can be separated from C. aporema by the D1 and SD1 setaeseta:
a hairlike projection of the body wall that is articulated in a socket; compare to spine
on A9, which are located on separate pinaculapinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
in these other genera and on the same pinaculumpinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
in C. aporema. Cydia larvae can be separated from C. aporema by the lack of an anal combanal comb:
the mesal sclerotized prong ventrad of the anal plate and adjacent to the anus; used to eject frass
. Lusterala phaseolana has a very unusual larvalarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
and is one of only a few species of Tortricidae where the L group on the prothoraxprothorax:
the first thoracic segment
is bisetosebisetose:
two setae
(Brown and Nishida 2007Brown and Nishida 2007:
Brown, J. W. and K. Nishida. 2007. A new gall-inducing tortricid (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae: Olethreutinae) on lima bean (Phaseolus lunata; Fabaceae) from Costa Rica. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 109: 265-276.).

Identification Authority (Detailed)

Origin and host can be important clues for the identification of C. aporema. Larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
of C. aporema should originate from the New World, feed on Fabaceae (usually beans), and have the combination of morphological characters listed above, including 30-40 crochetscrochets:
sclerotized, hooklike structures, usually arranged in rows or circles on the prolegs of Lepidoptera larvae
on the abdominal prolegsabdominal prolegs:
all prolegs on any abdominal segment except the last, which are Anal prolegs
. Larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
from outside of the New World or those on hosts outside of Fabaceae (or host unknown) should be identified only to genus. Larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
from Malvaceae that match the above morphological description with only 13-20 crochetscrochets:
sclerotized, hooklike structures, usually arranged in rows or circles on the prolegs of Lepidoptera larvae
on the abdominal prolegsabdominal prolegs:
all prolegs on any abdominal segment except the last, which are Anal prolegs
should be identified as C. plebejana.

Key to larval Tortricidae intercepted, or potentially encountered, at U.S. ports of entry

Origin records

Crocidosema aporema has been intercepted from the following locations:

Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela

Origins outside of Central or South America, southern Mexico, or the Caribbean likely represent interceptions of C. plebejana and are not listed here.

Host records

Crocidosema aporema has been intercepted on the following hosts:

Annona sp., Araucaria angustifolia, Aster sp., Cajanus cajan, Chenopodium sp., Crocosmia sp., Cucurbita sp., Curcubita sp., Dianthus sp., Eucalyptus sp., Fabaceae, Hypericum sp., Lablab purpureus, Lecythis sp., Limonium sp., Lysimachia sp., Mentha sp., Momordica sp., Ornithogalum sp., Phaseolus coccineus, Phaseolus lunatus, Phaseolus sp., Phaseolus vulgaris, Physalis sp., Pisum sativum, Pisum sp., Rubus fruticosus, Rubus sp., Sorghum bicolor, Thymus vulgaris, Vicia faba, Vigna sp., Vigna unguiculata, Zea mays

Host records on plants outside of the Fabaceae need confirmation; those on Malvaceae likely represent interceptions of C. plebejana.