Classification

Tortricoidea: Tortricidae: Olethreutinae: Grapholitini: Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick)

Common name

false codling moth

Synonyms

Thaumatotibia roerigii

The false codling moth is incorrectly referred to as Cryptophlebia leucotreta in many publications (Brown 2006Brown 2006:
Brown, J. W. 2006. Scientific names of pest species in Tortricidae (Lepidoptera) frequently cited erroneously in the entomological literature. American Entomologist. 52: 182-189).

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 T. leucotreta are grouped under the "Cryptophlebia 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 pinaculumpinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
on T1 enlarged and extending beneath and beyond (posteradposterad:
toward the rear
of) 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 or absent. He used the following characters to identify T. leucotreta: L group on A9 usually trisetosetrisetose:
three setae
(all setaeseta:
a hairlike projection of the body wall that is articulated in a socket; compare to spine
usually on same pinaulum); pinaculapinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
moderate in size; Vs on A9 slightly further apart than those on A8; anal combanal comb:
the mesal sclerotized prong ventrad of the anal plate and adjacent to the anus; used to eject frass
present with 2-10 teeth. Other larval characters include: SD2 on A1-8 highly reduced or appearing absent; SV counts 3:3:2:2:1; spiracle on A8 displaced posteradposterad:
toward the rear
of SD pinaculumpinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
; D2 setaeseta:
a hairlike projection of the body wall that is articulated in a socket; compare to spine
on A9 on shared saddle pinaculumpinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
. Note that the anal combanal comb:
the mesal sclerotized prong ventrad of the anal plate and adjacent to the anus; used to eject frass
may be greatly reduced in some individuals.

Timm et al. (2007)Timm et al. (2007):
Timm, A. E., L. Warnich and H. Geertsema. 2007. Morphological and molecular identification of economically important Tortricidae (Lepidoptera) on tropical and subtropical fruit in South Africa. African Entomology 15: 269-286. provided a complete detailed description of the larvalarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
of T. leucotreta. They placed emphasis on the crochetscrochets:
sclerotized, hooklike structures, usually arranged in rows or circles on the prolegs of Lepidoptera larvae
and structure of the anal combanal comb:
the mesal sclerotized prong ventrad of the anal plate and adjacent to the anus; used to eject frass
to separate T. leucotreta from T. batrachopa. In T. leucotreta, the crochetscrochets:
sclerotized, hooklike structures, usually arranged in rows or circles on the prolegs of Lepidoptera larvae
are unevenly triordinaltriordinal:
crochets arranged so the tips are of three alternating lengths
, reduced in the medial half of the anal prolegsanal prolegs:
prolegs on the last abdominal segment (A10)
, with 36-42 on the abdominal prolegsabdominal prolegs:
all prolegs on any abdominal segment except the last, which are Anal prolegs
and 24-32 on the anal prolegsanal prolegs:
prolegs on the last abdominal segment (A10)
. Crochetscrochets:
sclerotized, hooklike structures, usually arranged in rows or circles on the prolegs of Lepidoptera larvae
in T. batrachopa are unevenly biordinalbiordinal:
crochets arranged in a single row of alternating lengths
. The medial prongs of the anal combanal comb:
the mesal sclerotized prong ventrad of the anal plate and adjacent to the anus; used to eject frass
are of even length in T. leucotreta versus the prongs "merging into distinct medial structure" in T. batrachopa. Timm et al. (2008)Timm et al. (2008):
Timm, A. E., L. Warnich and H. Geertsema. 2008. Morphological and molecular identification of economically important Tortricidae (Lepidoptera) on deciduous fruit tree crops in South Africa. African Entomology 16: 209-219. used the same characters to separate T. leucotreta from C. pomonella, G. molesta, and E. acerbella.

Other intercepted tortricid species with D1 and SD1 on the same pinaculumpinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
on A9 and the L pinaculumpinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
on T1 enlarged and extending beneath and beyond (posteradposterad:
toward the rear
of) the spiracle include (from 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.): Cryptophlebia, many Cochylini, Lorita scarificata, Gymnandrosoma aurantianum, and Ecdytolopha fabivora (previously Cydia fabivora). The last three species occur in Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, and are thus unlikely to be confused with false codling moth based on origin. Cochylini are found worldwide, although most are intercepted on Opuntia, Pithecellobium, or Asteraceae from the New World. Two possible distinguishing features for Cochylini larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
are SV counts of 3:3:2:2:2(1) and a bisetosebisetose:
two setae
L group on A9 in many species.

Three species of Cryptophlebia are considered serious pests of macadamia, litchi, mango, and other crops. Their larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
are similar to those of T. leucotreta, and larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
of the two genera are usually separated by the anal combanal comb:
the mesal sclerotized prong ventrad of the anal plate and adjacent to the anus; used to eject frass
, which is present in T. leucotreta and absent in most Cryptophlebia. This may cause confusion in some instances, because some individuals of Cryptophlebia, especially C. ombrodelta, have a rudimentary anal combanal comb:
the mesal sclerotized prong ventrad of the anal plate and adjacent to the anus; used to eject frass
with 4-6 small teeth. Luckily, C. ombrodelta is not found in Africa; however, it is not known if other species of Cryptophlebia, such as C. peltastica, also possess an anal combanal comb:
the mesal sclerotized prong ventrad of the anal plate and adjacent to the anus; used to eject frass
in some individuals.

Cryptophlebia ombrodelta is recorded from Australia, Guam, India, Japan, Java, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Thailand, and has been introduced into Hawaii. Cryptophlebia illepida has only been recorded only from Hawaii. Diagnostic characters for C. ombrodelta include: SV counts usually 3:3:3:2:2; L group on A9 trisetosetrisetose:
three setae
, all setaeseta:
a hairlike projection of the body wall that is articulated in a socket; compare to spine
usually on same pinaculumpinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
; abdominal prolegsabdominal prolegs:
all prolegs on any abdominal segment except the last, which are Anal prolegs
with 45-48 crochetscrochets:
sclerotized, hooklike structures, usually arranged in rows or circles on the prolegs of Lepidoptera larvae
; and anal combanal comb:
the mesal sclerotized prong ventrad of the anal plate and adjacent to the anus; used to eject frass
absent (usually). Diagnostic characters for C. illepida include: SV group usually 3:3:3:1:1; L group on A9 usually bisetosebisetose:
two setae
; and anal combanal comb:
the mesal sclerotized prong ventrad of the anal plate and adjacent to the anus; used to eject frass
absent. Origin should be sufficient to separate larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
of these two species from T. leucotreta.

Cryptophlebia peltastica is the primary pest of litchi in South Africa and Mauritius, and it is also a serious pest of macadamia in South Africa. It is broadly distributed on the African continent and has also been recorded from Seychelles, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Guam. It has only been reported as being intercepted at a U.S. port on one occasion; however, we suspect that any interceptions of C. peltastica would be confused with T. leucotreta or only identified to genus. An anal combanal comb:
the mesal sclerotized prong ventrad of the anal plate and adjacent to the anus; used to eject frass
should be absent in C. peltastica, although it is not known if some individuals have a small comb similar to what it found in C. ombrodelta.

Identification Authority (Detailed)

Positive identifications of T. leucotreta should be restricted to larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
intercepted from Africa (or Europe, and especially the Netherlands, if transshipment is suspected) with the L pinaculumpinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
on T1 enlarged and extending beneath and beyond (posteradposterad:
toward the rear
of) 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. Typical hosts are Capsicum annuum, Solanum melongena, or Citrus.

Because some Cryptophlebia larvae have a small anal combanal comb:
the mesal sclerotized prong ventrad of the anal plate and adjacent to the anus; used to eject frass
, a combination of other characters should be confirmed for T. leucotreta suspects found on macadamia or litchi: spiracle on A8 displaced posteradposterad:
toward the rear
of SD pinaculumpinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
; L group on A9 usually trisetosetrisetose:
three setae
(all setaeseta:
a hairlike projection of the body wall that is articulated in a socket; compare to spine
usually on same pinaulum); crochetscrochets:
sclerotized, hooklike structures, usually arranged in rows or circles on the prolegs of Lepidoptera larvae
unevenly triordinaltriordinal:
crochets arranged so the tips are of three alternating lengths
, 36-42. 

Origin records

Thaumatotibia leucotreta has been intercepted from the following locations:

Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote D'Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Netherlands, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Togo, Uganda, United Kingdom of Great Britain and N. Ireland, Zimbabwe

Interceptions from the Netherlands and United Kingdom likely represent transshipments from Africa.

Host records

Thaumatotibia leucotreta has been intercepted on the following hosts:

Abelmoschus esculentus, Allium sp., Annona muricata, Annona sp., Annonaceae, Artocarpus heterophyllus, Brassica sp., Cajanus cajan, Capsicum annuum, Capsicum chinense, Capsicum frutescens, Capsicum sinense, Capsicum sp., Citrus reticulata, Citrus sinensis, Citrus sp., Cola acuminata, Cola nitida, Cola sp., Englerophytum megalismontanum, Fabaceae, Gnetum africanum, Lablab purpureus, Persea americana, Phaseolus lunatus, Phaseolus sp., Phaseolus vulgaris, Phoenix sp., Phyllanthus emblica, Piper sp., Pithecellobium dulce, Psidium guajava, Psidium sp., Rosaceae, Solanaceae, Solanum melongena, Solanum sp., Telfairia occidentalis, Theobroma cacao, Uvaria sp., Vicia faba, Vitis sp., Zea mays, Zea sp., Ziziphus jujuba, Ziziphus sp.