Native
Hendecaneura shawiana (Kearfott) (Tortricidae: Olethreutinae: Eucosmini)
Common name: blueberry tip borer moth
FWL: 4.5-5.5 mm
Head and thorax brown to dark brown; labial palpilabial palpi:
a pair of sensory appendages that project from the lower part of the head; usually covered in scales and three-segmented
white; forewing dark with faint silver-blue strigulae, orange towards apexapex:
the point furthest removed from the base or at the end of the costal area 
; ocellusocellus:
forewing pattern element - an ovoid region anterior to the tornus; adult head - a simple insect "eye" located dorsal to the compound eye 
faint but present; white spot present halfway along inner margininner margin:
see dorsum 
; male with narrow forewing costal foldforewing costal fold:
a flap or fold at the base of the forewing that contains specialized sex scales
; hindwing brown, lighter basally.
Male genitalia are characterized by a poorly-developed uncusuncus:
a sclerotized process which is fused to the posterodorsal margin of tergum IX
and long, slender valvae. Female genitalia have not been figured in the literature.
The following account is summarized from Schaefers (1962)Schaefers (1962):
Schaefers, G. A. 1962. Life history of the blueberry tip borer, Hendecaneura shawiana (Kearfott) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), a new pest. Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 55: 119-123..
First instar larva 1.5-2.0 mm in length; mature larva approximately 10 mm in length. Early instars pink, becoming whiter with age. Head uniformly light brown to dark brown. No published descriptions of larval chaetotaxychaetotaxy:
the arrangement of setae (in reference to Lepidoptera larvae), often depicted on a "setal map"
exist.
Hendecaneura shawiana is similar to several other species of North American Olethreutinae, but can be separated by its small size, forewing pattern, and unusual venation.
The following account is summarized from Schaefers (1962)Schaefers (1962):
Schaefers, G. A. 1962. Life history of the blueberry tip borer, Hendecaneura shawiana (Kearfott) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), a new pest. Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 55: 119-123..
In New York, there is a single generation per year. Females lay several eggs are laid on the lower surface of leaves of the host plant in June. Eggs hatch within about a week and bore into the stem of a leaf, typically boring in the direction of the base. . By the third instar, only a single larva can feed in a single shoot. Feeding continues into late September by which time the larva has reached the fifth and final instar. After overwintering as a mature larva, pupation occurs in the spring, usually in May with adults eclosing shortly thereafter in early June.
The only known hostplant is blueberry (Vaccinium spp.), which they can be a minor pest of.
| Host plant | Host plant family | Reference(s) |
| Vaccinium spp. | Ericaceae | Schaefers 1962Schaefers 1962: Schaefers, G. A. 1962. Life history of the blueberry tip borer, Hendecaneura shawiana (Kearfott) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), a new pest. Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 55: 119-123. |
View full screen host table here
Hendecaneura shawiana appears to be a relatively uncommon species except when it becomes a pest. Scattered records exist throughout northeastern North America with additional records from Michigan and North Carolina.
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