Rhectocraspeda periusalis

Name

Rhectocraspeda periusalis (Walker, 1859)

Common name: Eggplant leafroller, eggplant webworm, tobacco leaf folder, tobacco leaf tier

Original combination: Botys periusalis Walker, 1859

Synonyms:

• Pachyzancla perfusalis (Forbes, 1923) (misspelling)
• Pilemia deformalis Möschler, 1882
• Rapoona tristis Hedemann, 1894

Alternative combinations: Pachyzancla periusalis, Pilemia periusalis

Classification: Pyraloidea, Crambidae, Spilomelinae, genus group unplaced

Adult recognition

Sexually dimorphic (males larger), with female forewing length 8.2-9.7 mm, males 9.5-10.0 mm. The moth is brown with blackish transverse lines, and fresh specimens have a glistening shine. The fronsFrons:
The front of the head, between the eyes.
is round, and the labial palps are short and porrect, with the apical segment small and hardly visible in the scale tuft. The male genitalia have a short, bifid (split) uncusUncus:
The prominent projection from the dorsal tegumen of the male genitalia. May be variously shaped as a hook, knob, hood, etc.
that is unique among species treated here. The valvae are oval, hairy, and have only a slender, spine-like process extending inward from the sacculusSacculus:
The ventro-basal area of the valva.
. The female genitalia have a large appendix bursaeAppendix bursae:
An appendix or pouch arising from the corpus bursae.
near the antrumAntrum:
Posterior section of the ductus bursae, posterior of the colliculum.
that is almost as large as the corpus bursaeCorpus bursae:
The enlarged, bulbous anterior end of the female genitalia.
proper.

Immature stages

Young larvae are yellowish without distinct markings. Older larvae are about 20 mm long and have two red-brown dorsal stripes and light reddish-brown markings on the sides. The head is mottled. The prothoracic shieldProthoracic shield:
Also called the T1 shield. In the larva, the extensive sclerotized area of the dorsal half of the prothorax. It bears six setae on each side, and its color pattern is often diagnostic.
is dark brown, nearly black, with a pale middle section. The pinacula are conspicuously brown. The subventral group of the first abdominal segment has two setae, and the D2 pinacula on the eighth segment are not fused.

Similar species

Among the species treated here, only Duponchelia fovealis approximates R. periusalis in size and color. However, D. fovealis has gray wings with white lines, rather than brown with black lines. Its forewing venationVenation:
The pattern of wing veins.
is distinctive, the male genitalia have an unsplit uncusUncus:
The prominent projection from the dorsal tegumen of the male genitalia. May be variously shaped as a hook, knob, hood, etc.
and two fibulae in addition to the saccular spine, and females lack an appendix bursaeAppendix bursae:
An appendix or pouch arising from the corpus bursae.
. Larvae of D. fovealis have a nearly uniformly brown prothoracic shieldProthoracic shield:
Also called the T1 shield. In the larva, the extensive sclerotized area of the dorsal half of the prothorax. It bears six setae on each side, and its color pattern is often diagnostic.
with only a very narrow pale medial stripe, as well as three setae in the A1 SV group and fused D2 pinacula on A8. Among other species not treated here, Spilomelinae and Pyraustinae include several small brown moths, such as Herpetogramma phaeopteralis (Guenée) (Tropical sod webworm), but they are polyphagous or feed on plants other than Solanaceae.

Behavior

Single eggs are laid on the underside of leaves and hatch in five to eight days. Young larvae mine the leaves in irregular blotch mines or feed on tissue near the leaf’s midrib. Subsequent larval instars exit the mine and web leaves together or foldFold:
The invisible line of folding below the discal cell on the forewing.
over leaf edges to feed and hide inside. On tobacco, they prefer young, tender growth. Larvae feed for 18 to 20 days and undergo four or more instars before entering a 3-day prepupal stage. Pupation occurs in a loose cocoon among the webbing, and it lasts 9 to 12 day. The life cycle lasts about 7 weeks in the tropics.

Distribution

In the southern USA, it is recorded from FL, GA, LA, and MS. Also known from Brazil, CostaCosta:
(1) The anterior margin of the wing. (2) In the male genitalia, the dorsal margin of the valva.
Rica, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Puerto Rico, Surinam, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Hosts

Capsicum annuum L. (red pepper)

Nicotiana tabacum L. (tobacco)

Solanum hirtum Vahl.

S. lycopersicum L. (tomato)

S. melongena L. (eggplant)

S. nigrum L. (black nightshade)

S. torvum Sw. (turkey berry)

Literature

Callan 1953Callan 1953:
Callan EM. 1953. Observations on the species of Pachyzancla Meyrick (Lep., Pyraustidae) in Trinidad. Entomologistrsquo;s Monthly Magazine 89: 160-161.

Cotton 1917Cotton 1917:
Cotton RT. 1917. Report of the assistant entomologist. Annual Report of the Insular Experiment Station of Porto Rico for the Period July 1, 1916, to June 30, 1917 1917: 107-122.

Grossbeck 1917Grossbeck 1917:
Grossbeck JE. 1917. Insects of Florida. IV: Lepidoptera. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 37: 1-147.

Jones 1915Jones 1915:
Jones TH. 1915. Insects affecting vegetable crops in Puerto Rico. Bulletin of the United States Department of Agriculture 192: 1-11.

Passoa 1985Passoa 1985:
Passoa SC. 1985. Taxonomy of the larvae and pupae of economically important Pyralid[a]e in Honduras. Unpublished Masterrsquo;s Thesis, University of Florida, [Gainesville].