Exotic
Synonyms: cnemoptila (Acharneodes), pithecolobiae (Gymnandrosoma), sideropetra (Argyroploce), sideroptera (Gymnandrosoma), torticornis (Argyroploce)
FWL: 6.0-8.5 mm (males); 8.0-10.5 mm (females)
Adults are dark brown with indistinct reddish-brown and black markings. A conspicuous white dot is present on the distaldistal:
farthest from body, distant from point of attachment
one-third of the forewing in most individuals. Males lack a forewing costal foldforewing costal fold:
a flap or fold at the base of the forewing that contains specialized sex scales
and have antennae that is flattened and notched at the base. The hindwings are dark brown.
Male genitalia are characterized by the absence of an uncusuncus:
a sclerotized process which is fused to the posterodorsal margin of tergum IX
, a large cuculluscucullus:
the distal portion of the male valva
with a few short, stout setae on the distaldistal:
farthest from body, distant from point of attachment
margin, and a dense row of about 130 deciduous cornuticornuti:
spines used to anchor the male vesica in the female bursa during copulation
in the vesica. Female genitalia are characterized by a cestumcestum:
a long, bandlike sclerotization of the wall of the ductus bursae
in the ductus bursaeductus bursae:
a membranous tube connecting the ostium bursae to the corpus bursae
that is closer to the ostiumostium:
see ostium bursae
than the ductus seminalis and two large, horn-like signasigna:
plural of "signum"
in the corpus bursaecorpus bursae:
a dilated membranous sac at the anterior end of the bursa copulatrix
.
The following account is summarized from Adamski & Brown (2001).
Late instar larvae are approximately 16-19 mm in length. Abdominal pinaculapinacula:
flattened sclerotized plates on a caterpillar that bear the setae
are large and well defined. The head is pale yellow to pale orange and the prothoracic shieldprothoracic shield:
a sclerotized plate on the dorsal surface of the prothorax
is pale yellow, usually without darker mottling. Other larval characters include: distance between V setae on A9 1.5 times the distance between V setae on A8; SV pinaculapinacula:
flattened sclerotized plates on a caterpillar that bear the setae
on A9 unisetose; and 40-50 crochetscrochets:
hooked spines on the prolegs of lepidopterous larvae
on the abdominal prolegs.
Males can be separated from other species of Gymnandrosoma by the flattened, notchlike basal portion of the antenna and large hairpencil on the hind tibia. Females may need to be dissected to confirm identity.
Larvae are similar to other species in the Cryptophlebia-Ecdytolopha group, with an enlarged L-pinaculum on the prothoraxprothorax:
the most anterior thoracic segment
that extends beneath (and usually beyond) the spiracle. Larvae of Gymnandrosoma can be separated from those of Ecdytolopha by the distance between the V setae on A9: approximately the same as the distance between Vs on A8 in Ecdytolopha and 1.2-2.0 times the distance between Vs on A8 in Gymnandrosoma.
The following account is summarized from White & Tuck (1994) and Adamski & Brown (2001).
Gymnandrosoma aurantianum has a relatively short life cycle (36 days from egg to adult), allowing it to complete up to 10 generations per year if the appropriate host plants are available. Adults may be present year-round.
Females lay eggs on mature fruit. Larvae tunnel into fruit and consume the seeds, or they may occasionally feed on leaves and stems. Pupation occurs in the soil. Larval damage to fruit may lead to secondary infection by fungus and bacteria.
Larvae of Gymnandrosoma aurantianum can be pests on cultivated macadamia, citrus, and other tropical fruits.
Host plant | Host plant family | Reference(s) |
Annona cherimola x squamosa | Annonaceae | USNM collectionUSNM collection: USNM collection. Based on identified reared specimens in the collection of the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. |
Plukenetia volubilis | Euphorbiaceae | USNM collectionUSNM collection: USNM collection. Based on identified reared specimens in the collection of the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. |
Cojoba arborea | Fabaceae | Busck 1934Busck 1934: Busck, A. 1934. Microlepidoptera of Cuba. Entomol. Am. 13: 151-217. |
Pithecellobium dulce | Fabaceae | USNM collectionUSNM collection: USNM collection. Based on identified reared specimens in the collection of the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. |
Psidium guajava | Myrtaceae | USNM collectionUSNM collection: USNM collection. Based on identified reared specimens in the collection of the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. |
Averrhoa carambola | Oxalidaceae | USNM collectionUSNM collection: USNM collection. Based on identified reared specimens in the collection of the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. |
Macadamia integrifolia | Proteaceae | USNM collectionUSNM collection: USNM collection. Based on identified reared specimens in the collection of the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C.; BMNH collectionBMNH collection: BMNH collection. Based on identified reared specimens in the collection of The Natural History Museum, London; identifications by staff of the Lepidoptera Section.; Blanco-Metzler 1994Blanco-Metzler 1994: Blanco-Metzler, H. 1994. The biology and ecology of the macadamia nut borer, Ecdytolopha torticornis Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in Costa Rica. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. 131 pp.; Blanco-Metzler et al. 1992Blanco-Metzler et al. 1992: Blanco-Metzler, H., Watt, A. D. Cosens, D. 1992. Dynamics of macadamia nut damage by Ecdytolopha torticornis (Lep: Tortricidae) and parasitism by Apanteles spp. In : Individuals, Patterns, and Populations, Norwich, England, 7-10 Sept. 1992., 1993, 2001 |
Punica granatum | Punicaceae | USNM collectionUSNM collection: USNM collection. Based on identified reared specimens in the collection of the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., Cornell University collection |
Eriobotrya japonica | Rosaceae | USNM collectionUSNM collection: USNM collection. Based on identified reared specimens in the collection of the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. |
Prunus persica | Rosaceae | USNM collectionUSNM collection: USNM collection. Based on identified reared specimens in the collection of the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. |
Citrus sp. | Rutaceae | Costacosta: the anterior margin of each wing Lima 1927; White & Tuck 1994 |
Cupania vernalis | Sapindaceae | USNM collectionUSNM collection: USNM collection. Based on identified reared specimens in the collection of the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. |
Litchi chinensis | Sapindaceae | Costacosta: the anterior margin of each wing Lima 1945 |
Sapindus saponaria | Sapindaceae | White 1999White 1999: White, G. L. 1999. Sapindus saponaria L. (Sapindaceae), a new host of Ecdytolopha aurantianum (Lima) (Lpeidoptera: Tortricidae: Olethreutinae). International Journal of Pest Management. 45: 287-291. |
Theobroma cacao | Stericulaceae | Meyrick 1931Meyrick 1931: Meyrick, E. 1931. Exotic Microlepidoptera. 4(?): 127-137?; MacKay 1959MacKay 1959: MacKay, M. R. 1959. Larvae of the North American Olethreutidae (Lepidoptera). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 10: 1-338.; USNM collectionUSNM collection: USNM collection. Based on identified reared specimens in the collection of the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. |
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Gymnandrosoma aurantianum is found in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.
Gymnandrosoma larvae (including G. aurantianum) are intercepted frequently on a variety of imports from Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. As most species were placed in Ecdytolopha prior to Adamski and Brown's revison (2001), interception records for Ecdytolopha could refer to species in either genus.