Type

Native

Taxonomy

Acleris variana (Fernald) (Tortricidae: Tortricinae: Tortricini)

Common names: eastern blackheaded budworm

Synonyms: angusana (Peronea)

Adult Recognition

FWLFWL:
forewing length; the distance from the base of the forewing to the apex, including fringe
: 7.5-9.5 mm

The forewing pattern of A. variana is quite variable and many forms are shared with Acleris gloveranus. Powell (1962b) describes eight different forms for A. gloveranus and an additional form for A. variana. The most common forms are illustrated here. 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 a well-developed uncusuncus:
a sclerotized process which is fused to the posterodorsal margin of tergum IX
; moderately developed, lobe-like sociisocii:
a pair of lightly sclerotized setose lobes
; and elongate valvaevalva:
an appendage flanking the intromittent organ that is used to clasp the female during copulation
with a well-developed sacculussacculus:
the ventral margin of the male valva
. Female genitalia are characterized by sterigmasterigma:
the sclerotized region surrounding the female ostium bursae
with long anterolateral extensions; cestumcestum:
a long, bandlike sclerotization of the wall of the ductus bursae
present in the ductus bursaeductus bursae:
a membranous tube connecting the ostium bursae to the corpus bursae
; and elongate, scobinatescobinate:
rasplike
signum present 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).

Mature larva 14-16 mm in length; width of head 1.3 mm on average; head variable in color, brownish yellow, reddish brown, light brown, or black; prothoracic shieldprothoracic shield:
a sclerotized plate on the dorsal surface of the prothorax
yellow or green, bordered laterally and posteriorly with brown or black, occasionally entirely brown; legs brown; body bright green; 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"
present with 6-10 teeth; SV group on A1, 2, 7, 8, 9 typically 3:3:2:2:2.

Similar Species

Acleris variana is nearly identical to Acleris gloveranus in both biology and morphology. The two species are geographically separated: A. gloveranus occurs in western North America and A. variana occurs in eastern North America. Powell (1962) outlined minor genitalic differences that can be used to separate the two species. In males, the sacculussacculus:
the ventral margin of the male valva
is broader and less elongate in A. gloveranus, while it is narrower and more elongate in A. variana. In A. gloveranus females, the sterigmasterigma:
the sclerotized region surrounding the female ostium bursae
is broad, with lobes connected, and a cestumcestum:
a long, bandlike sclerotization of the wall of the ductus bursae
is absent. In A. variana females, the sterigmasterigma:
the sclerotized region surrounding the female ostium bursae
is narrow with the lobes separate, and a weakly sclerotizedsclerotized:
hardened; usually in reference to larval structures or adult genitalia
cestumcestum:
a long, bandlike sclerotization of the wall of the ductus bursae
is present. In addition, females of A. variana have large abdominal scale tufts that are used to cover the eggs; these are lacking in A. gloveranus females.

Biology

The following account is summarized from EPPO (1997)EPPO (1997):
EPPO (European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization). 1997. Data sheets on quarantine pests: Acleris variana and Acleris gloverana . https://gd.eppo.int/download/doc/797_ds_ACLRSP_en.pdf [accessed 15 October 2020] (.pdf)..

Acleris variana completes one generation per year. Adults are present in August and September. The A. variana life cycle is nearly identical to that of Acleris gloveranus. Females lay eggs on the underside of needles in the upper section of host trees. Eggs overwinter until the following spring, and larvae hatch starting in mid-May. First instars feed inside opening buds, mid-instars web together needles to create a nest, and last instars are free-feeding. Males and 50% of females complete 4 larval instars while the remaining females complete 5 instars. Pupation occurs in webbed needles. Adults eclose in approximately two weeks. Larval damage is similar to that of Acleris gloveranus, although outbreaks of A. variana do not tend to cause tree mortality. Periods of low rainfall tend to trigger increases in A. variana populations.

Acleris variana attacks primarily fir (Abies spp.) and spruce (Picea spp.). It has been recorded from the following hosts:

Host plant	Host plant family	Reference(s)
Thuja plicata	Cupressaceae	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.
Abies alba	Pinaceae	Meyrick MS 1938Meyrick MS 1938: Meyrick MS 1938. Unpublished manuscript by E. Meyrick at BMNH, data captured by Gaeden Robinson.
Abies amabilis	Pinaceae	Llewellyn-Jones 1935Llewellyn-Jones 1935: Llewellyn-Jones, J. R. J. 1935. Some food plants of lepidopterous larvae. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of British Columbia. 31: 28-32.; Meyrick MS 1938Meyrick MS 1938: Meyrick MS 1938. Unpublished manuscript by E. Meyrick at BMNH, data captured by Gaeden Robinson.; 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.
Abies balsamea	Pinaceae	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.
Abies grandis	Pinaceae	Llewellyn-Jones 1935Llewellyn-Jones 1935: Llewellyn-Jones, J. R. J. 1935. Some food plants of lepidopterous larvae. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of British Columbia. 31: 28-32.; 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.
Abies lasiocarpa	Pinaceae	Llewellyn-Jones 1935Llewellyn-Jones 1935: Llewellyn-Jones, J. R. J. 1935. Some food plants of lepidopterous larvae. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of British Columbia. 31: 28-32.; 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.
Abies sp.	Pinaceae	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).; 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.
Larix occidentalis	Pinaceae	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.
Larix sp.	Pinaceae	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.
Picea abies	Pinaceae	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.
Picea engelmanni	Pinaceae	Llewellyn-Jones 1935Llewellyn-Jones 1935: Llewellyn-Jones, J. R. J. 1935. Some food plants of lepidopterous larvae. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of British Columbia. 31: 28-32.; 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.
Picea glauca	Pinaceae	McDunnough 1934McDunnough 1934: McDunnough, J. 1934. The Canadian species of the tortricid genus Peronea . Canadian Journal of Research. 11: 290-332.; 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.
Picea mariana	Pinaceae	Meyrick MS 1938Meyrick MS 1938: Meyrick MS 1938. Unpublished manuscript by E. Meyrick at BMNH, data captured by Gaeden Robinson.; 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.
Picea pungens	Pinaceae	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.
Picea rubens	Pinaceae	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.
Picea sitchensis	Pinaceae	Llewellyn-Jones 1935Llewellyn-Jones 1935: Llewellyn-Jones, J. R. J. 1935. Some food plants of lepidopterous larvae. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of British Columbia. 31: 28-32.; 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.
Picea sp.	Pinaceae	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.; Keen 1952Keen 1952: Keen, F. P. 1952. Insect enemies of western forests, rev. ed. Calif. Dept. Agric. Misc. Publ. 273. 280 pp.; 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.; 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).; 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.
Pinus contorta	Pinaceae	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.
Pseudotsuga menziesii	Pinaceae	Llewellyn-Jones 1935Llewellyn-Jones 1935: Llewellyn-Jones, J. R. J. 1935. Some food plants of lepidopterous larvae. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of British Columbia. 31: 28-32.; 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.
Pseudotsuga sp.	Pinaceae	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.
Tsuga canadensis	Pinaceae	McDunnough 1934McDunnough 1934: McDunnough, J. 1934. The Canadian species of the tortricid genus Peronea . Canadian Journal of Research. 11: 290-332.; 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.
Tsuga heterophylla	Pinaceae	Llewellyn-Jones 1935Llewellyn-Jones 1935: Llewellyn-Jones, J. R. J. 1935. Some food plants of lepidopterous larvae. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of British Columbia. 31: 28-32.; 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.
Tsuga mertensiana	Pinaceae	Llewellyn-Jones 1935Llewellyn-Jones 1935: Llewellyn-Jones, J. R. J. 1935. Some food plants of lepidopterous larvae. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of British Columbia. 31: 28-32.; 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	McDunnough 1934McDunnough 1934: McDunnough, J. 1934. The Canadian species of the tortricid genus Peronea . Canadian Journal of Research. 11: 290-332.

Host plant table (embedded)

View full screen host table here

Distribution

Acleris variana is distributed in coniferous forests from eastern Canada and the northeastern United States west to Alberta.

Links

Additional photos and distribution map in North America available at Moth Photographers Group.