Native
Acleris nivisellana (Walsingham) (Tortricidae: Tortricinae: Tortricini)
Common names: apple leaf twister
FWLFWL:
forewing length; the distance from the base of the forewing to the apex, including fringe
: 6.0-7.5 mm
The following forewing pattern elements are consistent across most individuals: ground color white; large dark brown to black, triangular costal patch; brownish-yellow patch extending from the costal patch to the dorsaldorsal:
upper, to the top, on the back 
margin; and large patch of dark-brown to black on distaldistal:
farthest from body, distant from point of attachment
one-third of the wing. Males lack 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 an obsolete uncusuncus:
a sclerotized process which is fused to the posterodorsal margin of tergum IX
; moderate, broad sociisocii:
a pair of lightly sclerotized setose lobes
; and trapezoidal valvaevalva:
an appendage flanking the intromittent organ that is used to clasp the female during copulation
with a produced apexapex:
the point furthest removed from the base or at the end of the costal area 
. Female genitalia are characterized by a sterigmasterigma:
the sclerotized region surrounding the female ostium bursae 
with two long, anteriorly directed lobes and a long, scobinatescobinate:
rasplike
signum in the corpus bursaecorpus bursae:
a dilated membranous sac at the anterior end of the bursa copulatrix
.
The following account is summarized from Chapman & Lienk (1971).
Mid- to late instar larvae are approximately 9-16 mm long. Abdominal color varies, while the head is brown to dark brown posteriorly and dark brown to black anteriorly. The prothoracic shieldprothoracic shield:
a sclerotized plate on the dorsal surface of the prothorax 
has two large posterolateralposterolateral:
towards the rear and side; posterior and lateral 
black spots, one on each side, and is otherwise concolorous with the abdomen.
Acleris nivisellana can appear similar in forewing pattern to certain forms of other Acleris species, such as A. forbesana and A. variegana. Most other similar species lack the large patch of dark scales on the distaldistal:
farthest from body, distant from point of attachment one-third of the wing that is found in A. nivisellana.
The following account is summarized from Chapman & Lienk (1971).
Acleris nivisellana appears to complete two generations per year, with adults present in June and again in mid-August and September. Larval feeding occurs in a silken chamber on the lower surface of leaves along the midrib. Larvae skeletonize the leaves and may partly sever the midrib, causing injured leaves to have a characteristic twisted appearance. Larvae have not been recorded feeding on fruit or other parts of the plant.
This species has been recorded feeding on various plants in the family Rosaceae.
| Host plant | Host plant family | Reference(s) |
| Crataegus sp. | Rosaceae | McDunnough 1934McDunnough 1934: McDunnough, J. 1934. The Canadian species of the tortricid genus Peronea . Canadian Journal of Research. 11: 290-332., 1940; 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. |
| Malus pumila | 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.; Chapman & Lienk 1971 |
| Malus sp. | 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. |
| Physocarpus malvaceus | Rosaceae | Braun 1925Braun 1925: Braun, A. F. 1925. Microlepidoptera of northern Utah. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 51: 183-226.; Meyrick MS 1938Meyrick MS 1938: Meyrick MS 1938. Unpublished manuscript by E. Meyrick at BMNH, data captured by Gaeden Robinson.; 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. |
| Prunus pensylvanica | Rosaceae | McDunnough 1934McDunnough 1934: McDunnough, J. 1934. The Canadian species of the tortricid genus Peronea . Canadian Journal of Research. 11: 290-332., 1940; Chapman & Lienk 1971; 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. |
| Sorbus scopulina | Rosaceae | Powell 2006Powell 2006: Powell, J. A. 2006. Database of Lepidoptera rearing lots, 1960-2005. University of California Berkeley, CA. |
| Sorbus 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. |
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Acleris nivisellana is distributed from the Northeastern United States across southern Canada to British Columbia and south to California. In the United States it is found as far south as North Carolina, Nebraska, and Oregon.
