Classification

Tortricoidea: Tortricidae: Olethreutinae: Grapholitini: Grapholita

Synonyms

Aspila, Endopisa, Grapholitha, several others

Larval diagnosis (Detailed)

The worldwide genus Grapholita contains approximately 125 described species. This genus contains many well known tortricid pests, such as the oriental fruit moth (G. molesta), cherry fruit worm (G. packardi), lesser apple worm (G. prunivora), and plum fruit moth (G. funebrana). Larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
are internal feeders in fruit and can cause significant economic damage to stone and pome fruit (almonds, apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums, etc.). The white to reddish larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
resemble those of other internal-feeding olethreutines, such as Cydia.

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." Grapholita 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 Grapholita: crochetscrochets:
sclerotized, hooklike structures, usually arranged in rows or circles on the prolegs of Lepidoptera larvae
numerous (>25), uniordinaluniordinal:
crochets arranged so they are of a single length or slightly shorter toward the ends of the row
or biordinalbiordinal:
crochets arranged in a single row of alternating lengths
; SV group variable, usually 3:3:2:2:2 or 3:3:2:2:1; on Rosaceae and Ericaceae.

MacKay (1959)MacKay (1959):
MacKay, M. R. 1959. Larvae of the North American Olethreutidae (Lepidoptera). Canadian Entomologist Supplement 10: 1-338. grouped most Nearctic Grapholita pest species in "Laspeyresia Group 3," a group that also contained several Cydia. Her diagnosis for the group included the following: head with ocellar area always rounded; adfrontals never strongly tapered anteriorly, often being of about the same width throughout; ocelliocellus:
a simple eye of an adult insect; compare to stemmata
[stemmata] all of approximately the same size and not spaced far apart; spinneretspinneret:
a structure from which silk is spun, usually located on the labium of larvae
rounded at distaldistal:
toward the tip or end; farthest from the body
end (broken in our illustrated specimen, see Cepeda et al. 2011: Fig. 11 for an intact example) but varying in length; SD1 on segment 8 always anterioranterior:
front; in front of
or anteroventralanteroventral:
in front of and toward the venter or lower part
to the spiracle; spiracle on segment 8, in some species, tending to be slightly posteriorposterior:
caudal or rear
to a mid-dorsovental line; L1 and L2 on segments 1-7 occasionally slightly posteriorposterior:
caudal or rear
to a vertical line through spiracle but never anterioranterior:
front; in front of
to it; SV group on segment 9 almost invariably a single setaseta:
a hairlike projection of the body wall that is articulated in a socket; compare to spine
; the anal shieldanal shield:
the dorsal shieldlike covering of the last abdominal segment (= anal plate)
rounded or often somewhat truncated posteriorly, and L1s and SD1s of the anal setaeseta:
a hairlike projection of the body wall that is articulated in a socket; compare to spine
about as long as the anal segment; crochets uniordinaluniordinal:
crochets arranged so they are of a single length or slightly shorter toward the ends of the row
, often unevenly so; pinaculapinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
of V1s on thorax fused to coxae or almost so; anal forkanal fork:
see Anal comb
absent, or small if present.

Note that MacKay described the anal combanal comb:
the mesal sclerotized prong ventrad of the anal plate and adjacent to the anus; used to eject frass
(= fork) as both present and absent in this group. An anal combanal comb:
the mesal sclerotized prong ventrad of the anal plate and adjacent to the anus; used to eject frass
is absent in most Cydia and present in Grapholita, although there are a few Grapholita, such as G. interstinctana, in which it is absent. Fortunately, all of the major pest species of Grapholita have a small anal combanal comb:
the mesal sclerotized prong ventrad of the anal plate and adjacent to the anus; used to eject frass
, and this character can be used to separate them from common Cydia, such as C. pomonella.

Unfortunately, MacKay's descriptions are little help in separating larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
of Grapholita from other genera or from each other. This is partially due to the variability of many of the characters within the genus; as an example, here is her description of the SV counts in G. molesta: "SV group on segments 1,2,7,8, and 9 usually 2:3,2:2:2:2 but unstable and occasionally 2:3,2:2:2:1 or 3,2:3:2:2:1 and even 2:3,2:2:2:2 on one specimen." She attempted to separate the economically important species of Grapholita using head size, spinneretspinneret:
a structure from which silk is spun, usually located on the labium of larvae
size, and coloring. However, larval pattern and pigmentation can vary in the Grapholita genus group (Komai 1999: 27).

Brown (1987)Brown (1987):
Brown, R. L. 1987. Tortricidae (Tortricoidea), pp. 419-433. In Stehr, F. W. (ed.), Immature Insects. Kendall/Hunt, Dubuque, Iowa. also attempted to separate G. molesta, G. prunivora, and G. packardi using head capsule size and body color in preserved specimens. He used the following characters for the genus Grapholita: SV group on A9 usually unisetoseunisetose:
one seta
; SD2 on T2 usually anterodorsalanterodorsal:
in front of and toward the back or upper part
to SD1; anal combanal comb:
the mesal sclerotized prong ventrad of the anal plate and adjacent to the anus; used to eject frass
present SV group on A2; and L group on A9 trisetosetrisetose:
three setae
. Komai (1999: 105) added that the Grapholita subgenus Aspilia (that includes G. molesta) has SD1 and SD2 on the same pinaculumpinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
on A1-7; a feature they share with the tortricine tribe Archipini. Cepeda et al. (2011) described, and later made a key (Cepeda and Cubillos 2012Cepeda and Cubillos 2012:
Cepeda, D. E. and G. E. Cubillos. 2012. Clave de identificacion para el ultimo estado larval de siete especies de tortricidos de importancia economica en Chile (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Revista Chilena De Entomologia 37: 37-45.), to the Tortricidae of economic importance attacking fruit trees in Chile. They separated C. pomonella and G. molesta from other Olethreutinae by having the MSD1 and MSD2 pinaculapinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
fused on the mesothoraxmesothorax:
the second thoracic segment
and by having uniordinaluniordinal:
crochets arranged so they are of a single length or slightly shorter toward the ends of the row
crochets on A3-6.

While some of the characters listed by MacKay (1959)MacKay (1959):
MacKay, M. R. 1959. Larvae of the North American Olethreutidae (Lepidoptera). Canadian Entomologist Supplement 10: 1-338. and Brown (1987)Brown (1987):
Brown, R. L. 1987. Tortricidae (Tortricoidea), pp. 419-433. In Stehr, F. W. (ed.), Immature Insects. Kendall/Hunt, Dubuque, Iowa. may be useful in diagnosing Grapholita larvae to species in parts of North America, they are likely only reliable in late-instarinstar:
the stage between molts
individuals. When tested against other pest species, like G. funebrana (e.g. Baker 1963Baker 1963:
Baker, C. R. B. 1963. Notes on the larvae and pupae of two fruit moths, Grapholita funebrana Treitschke and G. molesta Busck (Lepidoptera: Olethreutidae). Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London. Series A, General Entomology 38: 212-222., reproduced in Whittle 1984Whittle 1984:
Whittle, K. 1984. Plum Fruit Moth. Cydia funebrana (Treitschke). Pests not known to occur in the United States or of limited distribution 49. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine 81-45. 12 pp.), the characters are subtle and may not be practical for identifiers without a large larval collection for comparison. We do not recommend attempting to identify Grapholita larvae below the genus level with morphology unless there is a compelling need to do so. Molecular diagnostics are usually required to obtain a reliable species-level identification for interceptions that are quarantine significant. Several diagnostic methods are available: Chen and Dorn (2009)Chen and Dorn (2009):
Chen, M. H. and S. Dorn. 2009. Reliable and efficient discrimination of four internal fruit-feeding Cydia and Grapholita species (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Journal of Economic Entomology 102: 2209-2216. developed a PCR-RFLP assay to separate G. funebrana from G. molesta and several other species; and Barcenas et al. (2005) used a type of DNA barcoding to separate early instars of C. pomonella, G. molesta, G. prunivora, and G. packardi.

Identification Authority (Detailed)

Host can be useful in identifying larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
of Grapholita, although origin is usually not. Most Grapholita are found on Rosaceae or Ericaceae and have a combination of the following characters (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.): D1 and SD1 on the same pinaculumpinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
on A9; L group on T1 not extending beneath the spiracle; anal combanal comb:
the mesal sclerotized prong ventrad of the anal plate and adjacent to the anus; used to eject frass
present; crochetscrochets:
sclerotized, hooklike structures, usually arranged in rows or circles on the prolegs of Lepidoptera larvae
numerous (>25), uniordinaluniordinal:
crochets arranged so they are of a single length or slightly shorter toward the ends of the row
or biordinalbiordinal:
crochets arranged in a single row of alternating lengths
; SV group variable, usually 3:3:2:2:2 or 3:3:2:2:1.

It is difficult or impossible to reliably identify species of Grapholita using only morphology. In many cases molecular diagnostics are necessary to confirm species-level identifications.

The presence of an anal combanal comb:
the mesal sclerotized prong ventrad of the anal plate and adjacent to the anus; used to eject frass
separates most Grapholita larvae from Cydia. The anal combanal comb:
the mesal sclerotized prong ventrad of the anal plate and adjacent to the anus; used to eject frass
may be difficult to see in very small larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
without careful examination. Identifiers should be especially careful with small Cydia-type larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
where the anal combanal comb:
the mesal sclerotized prong ventrad of the anal plate and adjacent to the anus; used to eject frass
appears to be absent, but there is a large number of 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
(25 or more).

Origin records

Grapholita have been intercepted from the following locations:

Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Togo, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and N. Ireland, Yugoslavia

Host records

Grapholita have been intercepted on the following hosts:

Amaranthaceae, Capsicum frutescens, Casimiroa edulis, Crataegus sp., Crotalaria sp., Cycas revoluta, Cydonia oblonga, Cydonia sp., Dialium guianense, Dianthus sp., Diospyros kaki, Diospyros sp., Ficus sp., Helianthus annuus, Limonium sp., Malus domestica, Malus sp., Malus sylvestris, Melicoccus sp., Mespilus germanica, Ocimum basilicum, Persea americana, Pithecellobium dulce, Prunus armeniaca, Prunus domestica, Prunus dulcis, Prunus persica, Prunus sp., Psidium guajava, Punica granatum, Pyrus bretschneideri, Pyrus communis, Pyrus pyrifolia, Pyrus sp., Rosa sp., Rosaceae, Solanum melongena, Vaccinium sp., Zea mays