Native
Suleima helianthana (Riley) (Tortricidae: Olethreutinae: Eucosmini)
Common name: sunflower bud moth
FWL: 6.5-9.0 mm
Head, thorax ashy gray-brown; forewing with ground color light tan to ashy gray-brown; dark dashes present between costal strigulaecostal strigulae:
small, usually pale, semirectangular marks along the costa 
; ocellusocellus:
forewing pattern element - an ovoid region anterior to the tornus; adult head - a simple insect "eye" located dorsal to the compound eye 
well-defined, creamy white; dark brown fasciaefasciae:
plural of "fascia"
fading towards costacosta:
the anterior margin of each wing 
, leaving two distinct marks along the inner margininner margin:
see dorsum 
; male without forewing costal foldforewing costal fold:
a flap or fold at the base of the forewing that contains specialized sex scales
; hindwing of both sexes pale brown.
Male genitalia are characterized by a weakly developed uncusuncus:
a sclerotized process which is fused to the posterodorsal margin of tergum IX
and sociisocii:
a pair of lightly sclerotized setose lobes
; valvaevalvae:
plural of "valva"
broad, with spine-like setae present along distaldistal:
farthest from body, distant from point of attachment
margin. Female genitalia are characterized by a semi-cylindrical sterigmasterigma:
the sclerotized region surrounding the female ostium bursae 
; an elongate sclerotizedsclerotized:
hardened; usually in reference to larval structures or adult genitalia 
patch on the ductus bursaeductus bursae:
a membranous tube connecting the ostium bursae to the corpus bursae
; and two 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 Satterthwait (1948)Satterthwait (1948):
Satterthwait, A. F. 1948. Important sun flower insects and their insect enemies. Journal of Economic Entomology. 41: 725-731. and MacKay (1959)MacKay (1959):
MacKay, M. R. 1959. Larvae of the North American Olethreutidae (Lepidoptera). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 10: 1-338..
Mature larva 8-15 mm in length; width of head 1.2-1.5 mm; head, prothoracic shieldprothoracic shield:
a sclerotized plate on the dorsal surface of the prothorax 
, legs dark brown; anal shieldanal shield:
a sclerotized plate on the dorsal surface of the last abdominal segment (in larvae) 
light pale brown; body pale to whitish, with short red-brown setae; SV group on A1, 2, 7, 8, 9 typically 2:2:2:1:1, but occasionally 2:2:2:2:1.
Detailed figures of larval chaetotaxychaetotaxy:
the arrangement of setae (in reference to Lepidoptera larvae), often depicted on a "setal map"
are available in MacKay (1959)MacKay (1959):
MacKay, M. R. 1959. Larvae of the North American Olethreutidae (Lepidoptera). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 10: 1-338..
Several other species of Suleima feed on Helianthus, but adults are fairly distinct from S. helianthana. More likely to be confused are Pelochrista consobrinana, Pelochrista pulveratana, and Eucosma tomonana. Examination of the genitalia is likely required for most specimens.
The following account is summarized from Satterthwait (1948)Satterthwait (1948):
Satterthwait, A. F. 1948. Important sun flower insects and their insect enemies. Journal of Economic Entomology. 41: 725-731..
In most areas where this species occurs, there are two generations per year, but more may occur in Texas, Florida, and Mexico. In the northern portion of the range, eggs are laid early in May, on or near terminal or tender auxiliary buds, on which early instar larvae feed as leaf miners. Later instars bore in buds, bracts, and seeds. Complete development of the larva averages about 40 days, but varies according to temperature. Pupation takes place in a cocoon constructed within the feeding cavity. Adults eclose approximately one week later. The second generation of adults flies from late August through September, during which mating and oviposition occurs. Overwintering occurs as a mature larva.
The primary host is sunflower (Helianthus spp.), of which larvae can be serious pests, but have also been recorded on bitterweed (Hymenoxys sp.) and large-flowered tickseed (Coreopsis grandiflora). All three hosts are in the Asteraceae.
| Host plant | Host plant family | Reference(s) |
| Coreopsis grandiflora | Asteraceae | Satterthwait 1948Satterthwait 1948: Satterthwait, A. F. 1948. Important sun flower insects and their insect enemies. Journal of Economic Entomology. 41: 725-731. |
| Coreopsis sp. | Asteraceae | Satterthwait 1948Satterthwait 1948: Satterthwait, A. F. 1948. Important sun flower insects and their insect enemies. Journal of Economic Entomology. 41: 725-731.; Miller 1987aMiller 1987a: Miller, W. E. 1987a. Guide to the Olethreutine moths of midland North America (Tortricidae). USDA Forest Service Agriculture Handbook 660: 1-104. |
| Helianthus annuus | Asteraceae | Clarke 1935Clarke 1935: Clarke, J.F.G. 1935. Notes and new species of Microlepidoptera from Washington State. Canadian Entomologist. 67: 244-254.; MacKay 1959MacKay 1959: MacKay, M. R. 1959. Larvae of the North American Olethreutidae (Lepidoptera). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 10: 1-338.; Rogers 1979Rogers 1979: Rogers, C.E. 1979. Sunflower bud moth: behavior and impact of the larva on sunflower seed production in the southern Plains. Environmental Entomology. 8: 113-116.; Powell 2006Powell 2006: Powell, J. A. 2006. Database of Lepidoptera rearing lots, 1960-2005. University of California Berkeley, CA. |
| Helianthus sp. | Asteraceae | Riley 1881Riley 1881: Riley, C. V. 1881. Descriptions of some new Tortricidae. Transactions of the St. Louis Academy of Sciences. 4: 316-324.; Heinrich 1921Heinrich 1921: Heinrich, C. 1921. Some Lepidoptera likely to be confused with the pink bollworm. Journal of Agricultural Research. 20: 807-836., 1923b; Satterthwait 1948Satterthwait 1948: Satterthwait, A. F. 1948. Important sun flower insects and their insect enemies. Journal of Economic Entomology. 41: 725-731.; MacKay 1959MacKay 1959: MacKay, M. R. 1959. Larvae of the North American Olethreutidae (Lepidoptera). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 10: 1-338.; Mitchell et al.1978; Charlet 1983Charlet 1983: Charlet, L.D. 1983. Insect stem fauna of native sunflower species in western North Dakota. Environmental Entomology. 12(4): 1286-1288.; Miller 1987aMiller 1987a: Miller, W. E. 1987a. Guide to the Olethreutine moths of midland North America (Tortricidae). USDA Forest Service Agriculture Handbook 660: 1-104.; Pedraza-Martinez 1990Pedraza-Martinez 1990: Pedraza-Martinez, F.A. 1990. Seasonal incidence of Suleima helianthana (Riley) infestation in sunflower in central Tamaulipas, Mexico. Southwestern Entomologist. 15: 453-457. |
| Helianthus tuberosus | Asteraceae | Satterthwait 1948Satterthwait 1948: Satterthwait, A. F. 1948. Important sun flower insects and their insect enemies. Journal of Economic Entomology. 41: 725-731. |
| Hymenoxys sp. | Asteraceae | Satterthwait 1948Satterthwait 1948: Satterthwait, A. F. 1948. Important sun flower insects and their insect enemies. Journal of Economic Entomology. 41: 725-731. |
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Suleima helianthana is broadly distributed in North America, from New York and southern Ontario to South Dakota and south to Florida, Mexico, and California.
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