Type

Native

Taxonomy

Archips cerasivorana (Fitch) (Tortricidae: Tortricinae: Archipini)

Common names: ugly-nest caterpillar

Adult Recognition

FWLFWL:
forewing length; the distance from the base of the forewing to the apex, including fringe
: 7.5-9.5 mm (male); 9.0-12.0 mm (female)

Forewing color varies from bright orange to yellow, often with faint purplish markings. The hindwing is yellow or yellowish brown. Males have a forewing costal foldforewing costal fold:
a flap or fold at the base of the forewing that contains specialized sex scales
.

Male genitalia are characterized by a finger-like uncusuncus:
a sclerotized process which is fused to the posterodorsal margin of tergum IX
; absent sociisocii:
a pair of lightly sclerotized setose lobes
; and large, circular, membranous valvaevalva:
an appendage flanking the intromittent organ that is used to clasp the female during copulation
. Female genitala are characterized by a long, straight ductus bursaeductus bursae:
a membranous tube connecting the ostium bursae to the corpus bursae
with cestumcestum:
a long, bandlike sclerotization of the wall of the ductus bursae
present; and a well-developed daggar-like signumsignum:
a sclerotized projection or patch on the interior of the corpus bursae
in the corpus bursaecorpus bursae:
a dilated membranous sac at the anterior end of the bursa copulatrix
. 

Larval Morphology

The following account is summarized from MacKay (1962a).

Last instar larvae are 19-26 mm in length with a yellow to dark yellowish-green abdomen. The head, prothoracic shieldprothoracic shield:
a sclerotized plate on the dorsal surface of the prothorax
, thoracic legs, and anal shieldanal shield:
a sclerotized plate on the dorsal surface of the last abdominal segment (in larvae)
are dark brown to black. An anal combanal comb:
a toothed structure on the last abdominal segment used to eject frass away from the feeding larva; also termed "anal fork"
is absent.

For a more detailed account of larval chaetotaxychaetotaxy:
the arrangement of setae (in reference to Lepidoptera larvae), often depicted on a "setal map"
, see MacKay (1962a).

 

Similar Species

Archips cerasivorana is very similar to A. rileyana, both in appearance and larval habits. Freeman (1958)Freeman (1958):
Freeman, T. N. 1958. The Archipinae of North America (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 7 (Vol. 90): 1-89. considered A. rileyana a subspecies of A. cerasivorana, but Obraztsov (1959)Obraztsov (1959):
Obraztsov, N. S. 1959. Characters separating Archips rileyanus and cerasivoranus as two species (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Entomological News. 70: 263-267. demonstrated that both adults and larvae of the two species can be separated. Archips cerasivorana is characterized by an uncusuncus:
a sclerotized process which is fused to the posterodorsal margin of tergum IX
with parallel sides in the male, a large blunt signumsignum:
a sclerotized projection or patch on the interior of the corpus bursae
in the female, and smaller, sometimes body-colored pinaculapinaculum:
flattened sclerotized plates on a caterpillar that bear the setae
on the larval abdomen. Archips rileyana is characterized by a spatulatespatulate:
spoonlike, narrow basally and enlarged and rounded apically
uncus in the male, a moderate pointed signumsignum:
a sclerotized projection or patch on the interior of the corpus bursae
in the female, and very large, conspicuous, black pinaculapinaculum:
flattened sclerotized plates on a caterpillar that bear the setae
on the larval abdomen.

Larvae of Archips rileyana are very similar to those of A. cerasivorana. Larvae of A. rileyana have very large, conspicuous, black pinaculapinaculum:
flattened sclerotized plates on a caterpillar that bear the setae
, whereas those of A. cerasivorana are smaller, and range from body-colored to black.

Biology

Archips cerasivorana completes one generation per year. Adults are present in July and August. Females lay eggs in masses of 25-200 eggs at the base of shoots, often near the ground. Eggs overwinter and first instar larvae hatch in May.

Unlike many tortricids, the larvae are social, and feeding occurs in silken nests on terminal leaves of the host plants. A typical nest may contain 30-200 larvae and reach up to 30 inches in diameter. The nest is expanded when the colony needs additional food and feeding always occurs under the protection of the nest. Early stages skeletonize leaves while later stages consume entire leaves. Pupation occurs in chambers constructed in the nest from frass and silk.

Archips cerasivorana is primarily associated with cherry and its most common host is Prunus virginiana (chokecherry). During outbreak conditions the larvae may utilize other hosts, many of which are listed below.

Host plant	Host plant family	Reference(s)
Acer saccharinum	Aceraceae	Prentice 1966Prentice 1966: Prentice, R. M. 1966. Vol. 4. Microlepidoptera. In : Forest Lepidoptera of Canada recorded by the Forest Insect Survey. Dept. For. Canada Publ. 1142: 543-840.
Alnus incana	Betulaceae	Prentice 1966Prentice 1966: Prentice, R. M. 1966. Vol. 4. Microlepidoptera. In : Forest Lepidoptera of Canada recorded by the Forest Insect Survey. Dept. For. Canada Publ. 1142: 543-840.
Betula papyrifera	Betulaceae	Prentice 1966Prentice 1966: Prentice, R. M. 1966. Vol. 4. Microlepidoptera. In : Forest Lepidoptera of Canada recorded by the Forest Insect Survey. Dept. For. Canada Publ. 1142: 543-840.
Corylus sp.	Betulaceae	Prentice 1966Prentice 1966: Prentice, R. M. 1966. Vol. 4. Microlepidoptera. In : Forest Lepidoptera of Canada recorded by the Forest Insect Survey. Dept. For. Canada Publ. 1142: 543-840.
Quercus macrocarpa	Fagaceae	Prentice 1966Prentice 1966: Prentice, R. M. 1966. Vol. 4. Microlepidoptera. In : Forest Lepidoptera of Canada recorded by the Forest Insect Survey. Dept. For. Canada Publ. 1142: 543-840.
Quercus palustris	Fagaceae	Prentice 1966Prentice 1966: Prentice, R. M. 1966. Vol. 4. Microlepidoptera. In : Forest Lepidoptera of Canada recorded by the Forest Insect Survey. Dept. For. Canada Publ. 1142: 543-840.
Fraxinus sp.	Oleaceae	Freeman 1958Freeman 1958: Freeman, T. N. 1958. The Archipinae of North America (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 7 (Vol. 90): 1-89.
Pinus sylvestris	PInaceae	Atwood 1967Atwood 1967: Atwood, C. E. 1967. A change in feeding habitat in Archips cerasivorana (Fitch) (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Ontario. 97: 115-117.
Amelanchier sp.	Rosaceae	MacKay 1962aMacKay 1962a: MacKay, M. R. 1962a. Larvae of the North American Tortricinae (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 28: 1-182.; Prentice 1966Prentice 1966: Prentice, R. M. 1966. Vol. 4. Microlepidoptera. In : Forest Lepidoptera of Canada recorded by the Forest Insect Survey. Dept. For. Canada Publ. 1142: 543-840.
Crataegus sp.	Rosaceae	Prentice 1966Prentice 1966: Prentice, R. M. 1966. Vol. 4. Microlepidoptera. In : Forest Lepidoptera of Canada recorded by the Forest Insect Survey. Dept. For. Canada Publ. 1142: 543-840.
Prunus avium	Rosaceae	LACM IndexLACM Index: LACM Index. Records from the card file at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, Los Angeles, California; transcribed by Gaeden Robinson (BMNH).
Prunus emarginata	Rosaceae	Powell 1962aPowell 1962a: Powell, J. A. 1962a. Host-parasite relationships of California Tortricinae. Pan-Pacific Entomologist. 38: 131-140., 1964b
Prunus ilicifolia	Rosaceae	Dyar 1902Dyar 1902: Dyar, H. G. 1902. Descriptions of the larvae of some moths from Colorado. Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 25: 369-412.
Prunus pensylvanica	Rosaceae	Prentice 1966Prentice 1966: Prentice, R. M. 1966. Vol. 4. Microlepidoptera. In : Forest Lepidoptera of Canada recorded by the Forest Insect Survey. Dept. For. Canada Publ. 1142: 543-840.
Prunus pumila	Rosaceae	Prentice 1966Prentice 1966: Prentice, R. M. 1966. Vol. 4. Microlepidoptera. In : Forest Lepidoptera of Canada recorded by the Forest Insect Survey. Dept. For. Canada Publ. 1142: 543-840.
Prunus serotina	Rosaceae	Prentice 1966Prentice 1966: Prentice, R. M. 1966. Vol. 4. Microlepidoptera. In : Forest Lepidoptera of Canada recorded by the Forest Insect Survey. Dept. For. Canada Publ. 1142: 543-840.
Prunus sp.	Rosaceae	Dyar 1902Dyar 1902: Dyar, H. G. 1902. Descriptions of the larvae of some moths from Colorado. Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 25: 369-412.; Forbes 1923Forbes 1923: Forbes, W. M. T. 1923. The Lepidoptera of New York and neighboring states. Primitive forms, Microlepidoptera, Pyraloids, Bombyces. Cornell Univ. Argic. Exp. Sta., Mem. 68. 729 pp.; Freeman 1958Freeman 1958: Freeman, T. N. 1958. The Archipinae of North America (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 7 (Vol. 90): 1-89.; Schaffner 1959Schaffner 1959: Schaffner, J. V. 1959. Microlepidoptera and their parasites reared from field collections in the northeastern United States. USDA, Misc. Publ. 767. 97 pp.; Powell 1964bPowell 1964b: Powell, J. A. 1964b. Biological and taxonomic studies on tortricine moths, with reference to the species in California. University of California Publications in Entomology. Vol. 32. 317 pp.; Prentice 1966Prentice 1966: Prentice, R. M. 1966. Vol. 4. Microlepidoptera. In : Forest Lepidoptera of Canada recorded by the Forest Insect Survey. Dept. For. Canada Publ. 1142: 543-840.
Prunus virginiana	Rosaceae	Schaffner 1959Schaffner 1959: Schaffner, J. V. 1959. Microlepidoptera and their parasites reared from field collections in the northeastern United States. USDA, Misc. Publ. 767. 97 pp.; Powell 1964bPowell 1964b: Powell, J. A. 1964b. Biological and taxonomic studies on tortricine moths, with reference to the species in California. University of California Publications in Entomology. Vol. 32. 317 pp., 2006; LACM IndexLACM Index: LACM Index. Records from the card file at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, Los Angeles, California; transcribed by Gaeden Robinson (BMNH).; Ferguson 1975Ferguson 1975: Ferguson, D. C. 1975. Host records for Lepidoptera reared in eastern North America. United States Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletin 1521. 49 pp.
Prunus virginiana var. demissa	Rosaceae	Powell 2006Powell 2006: Powell, J. A. 2006. Database of Lepidoptera rearing lots, 1960-2005. University of California Berkeley, CA.
Rosa sp.	Rosaceae	Prentice 1966Prentice 1966: Prentice, R. M. 1966. Vol. 4. Microlepidoptera. In : Forest Lepidoptera of Canada recorded by the Forest Insect Survey. Dept. For. Canada Publ. 1142: 543-840.
Populus balsamifera	Salicaceae	Prentice 1966Prentice 1966: Prentice, R. M. 1966. Vol. 4. Microlepidoptera. In : Forest Lepidoptera of Canada recorded by the Forest Insect Survey. Dept. For. Canada Publ. 1142: 543-840.
Populus sp.	Salicaceae	MacKay 1962aMacKay 1962a: MacKay, M. R. 1962a. Larvae of the North American Tortricinae (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 28: 1-182.
Populus tremuloides	Salicaceae	Prentice 1966Prentice 1966: Prentice, R. M. 1966. Vol. 4. Microlepidoptera. In : Forest Lepidoptera of Canada recorded by the Forest Insect Survey. Dept. For. Canada Publ. 1142: 543-840.
Salix sp.	Salicaceae Host plant table (embedded) View full screen host table here Distribution Archips cerasivorana occurs across southern Canada and the northern half of the United States. Records from the southern U.S. most likely refer to A. rileyana. Links Additional photos and distribution map in North America available at Moth Photographers Group.  Male Male Female Male genitalia Female genitalia Early instar larvae. © Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org Larval nest. © Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org Late instar larva in nest. © Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org Late instar larva. © Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org previous next