Type

Native

Taxonomy

Amorbia emigratella Busck (Tortricidae: Tortricinae: Sparganothini)

Common names: Mexican leafroller

Adult Recognition

FWLFWL:
forewing length; the distance from the base of the forewing to the apex, including fringe
: 8.0-11.0 mm (males); 11.5-12.0 mm (females)

Adults are pale yellow to brown and may be variably mottledmottled:
having spots or blotches of color
with dark brown. Most individuals have a well defined costal spotcostal spot:
a patch of contrasting scales on the costa, usually a remnant of the postmedian or preterminal fascia
that is a remnant of the median fasciafascia:
a dark transverse band on the forewing
. Abdominal segments 2-6 have a median dorsaldorsal:
upper, to the top, on the back
pit and ocelliocelli:
adult head - a simple insect "eye" located dorsal to the compound eye; plural of ocellus
are absent. 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 long, thin  uncusuncus:
a sclerotized process which is fused to the posterodorsal margin of tergum IX
; large, setosesetose:
covered with setae
sociisocii:
a pair of lightly sclerotized setose lobes
; and large, membranous valvaevalva:
an appendage flanking the intromittent organ that is used to clasp the female during copulation
. Female genitalia are characterized by a sterigmasterigma:
the sclerotized region surrounding the female ostium bursae
with well-developed laterallateral:
to the side
lobes and a band-like signumsignum:
a sclerotized projection or patch on the interior of the corpus bursae
on the wall of 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) and Powell & Brown (2012).

Mature larva approximately 25 mm in length; width of head 2.0-2.1 mm; head brownish yellow; prothoracic shieldprothoracic shield:
a sclerotized plate on the dorsal surface of the prothorax
yellow with dark laterallateral:
to the side
band; body yellow-green to green; SV group on A1, 2, 7, 8, 9 numbering 3:3:3:2:2. 

For more information on Amorbia larvae, including a more detailed account of chaetotaxychaetotaxy:
the arrangement of setae (in reference to Lepidoptera larvae), often depicted on a "setal map"
, please consult the fact sheet and keys on LepIntercept.

.

Similar Species

Few other North American tortricids are similar in size or appearance to Amorbia, and this is one of the few tortricid genera in which the adults lack ocelliocelli:
adult head - a simple insect "eye" located dorsal to the compound eye; plural of ocellus
. The three Amorbia species treated on this site can be separated by the combination of two characters: forewing color and number of median dorsaldorsal:
upper, to the top, on the back
pits on the abdomen. Amorbia humerosana is gray, oftentimes with a brownish band on the inner margininner margin:
see dorsum
and has a single median dorsal pit on the second abdominal segment. Both A. emigratella and A. cuneanum are yellow-orange or yellow-brown, but A. cuneanum has a median dorsal pit on segment 2 whereas A. emigratella has median dorsal pits on segments 2-6.

The lateral bands on the prothoracic shieldprothoracic shield:
a sclerotized plate on the dorsal surface of the prothorax
can be used to distinguish late instar Amorbia larvae from those of many other tortricids. These characters can be used to separate late instar larvae of A. emigratella and Epiphyas postvittana from Hawaii, as both occur on similar host plants. Early instars lack the distinctive dark bands, and morphological identification of early instar larvae may be difficult or impossible.

Biology

The following account is summarized from Phillips-Rodríguez & Powell (2007) and Powell & Brown (2012). 

Eggs are laid in masses of 65-120 eggs on the upper surface of leaves. Females cover the egg mass with a whitish coating. Larvae feed within a shelter constructed of webbed leaves or leaves webbed to fruit; they may also feed within flower heads or buds. Larvae complete 4-5 instars and pupation occurs in the larval shelter. Adults eclose in approximately 10 days.

Amorbia emigratella has been recorded from plants in more than 25 families, many of which include economically important crops or threatened/endangered species (in Hawaii).

Host plant	Host plant family	Reference(s)
Daucus carota	Apiaceae	MacKay 1962aMacKay 1962a: MacKay, M. R. 1962a. Larvae of the North American Tortricinae (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 28: 1-182.
Nerium oleander	Apocynaceae	MacKay 1962aMacKay 1962a: MacKay, M. R. 1962a. Larvae of the North American Tortricinae (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 28: 1-182.
Schefflera actinophylla	Araliaceae	Zimmerman 1978Zimmerman 1978: Zimmerman, E. C. 1978. Insects of Hawaii, Volume 9, Microlepidoptera, Part 1. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 881 pp.
Dracaena sp.	Asparagaceae	Zimmerman 1978Zimmerman 1978: Zimmerman, E. C. 1978. Insects of Hawaii, Volume 9, Microlepidoptera, Part 1. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 881 pp.
Ageratina adenophora	Asteraceae	BioControl ID (South Africa)
Baccharis salicifolia	Asteraceae	USNM collectionUSNM collection: USNM collection. Based on identified reared specimens in the collection of the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C.
Parthenium hysterophorus	Asteraceae	McClay et al. 1995McClay et al. 1995: McClay, A. S., Palmer, W. A., Bennett, F. D., Pullen, K. R. 1995. Phytophagous arthropods associated with Parthenium hysterophorus (Asteraceae) in North America. Annual Review of Entomology. 24: 796-809.
Brassica oleracea	Brassicaceae	Zimmerman 1978Zimmerman 1978: Zimmerman, E. C. 1978. Insects of Hawaii, Volume 9, Microlepidoptera, Part 1. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 881 pp.
Cannabis sativa	Cannabaceae	Gagne 1976Gagne 1976: Gagne, W. 1976. Notes and exhibitions. Amorbia emigratella Busck. Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society. 22(2): 168.
Carica papaya	Caricaceae	Zimmerman 1978Zimmerman 1978: Zimmerman, E. C. 1978. Insects of Hawaii, Volume 9, Microlepidoptera, Part 1. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 881 pp.
Ipomoea batatas	Convolvulaceae	MacKay 1962aMacKay 1962a: MacKay, M. R. 1962a. Larvae of the North American Tortricinae (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 28: 1-182.; Zimmerman 1978Zimmerman 1978: Zimmerman, E. C. 1978. Insects of Hawaii, Volume 9, Microlepidoptera, Part 1. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 881 pp.
Jatropha gossypifolia	Euphorbiaceae	CSIRO Mexican Field StationCSIRO Mexican Field Station: CSIRO Mexican Field Station. Based on identified reared specimens in the collection of CSIRO Mexican Field Station, Veracruz; identifications by staff of the CSIRO Mexican Field Station.; USNM collectionUSNM collection: USNM collection. Based on identified reared specimens in the collection of the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C.
Acacia koaia	Fabaceae	Zimmerman 1978Zimmerman 1978: Zimmerman, E. C. 1978. Insects of Hawaii, Volume 9, Microlepidoptera, Part 1. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 881 pp.
Arachis hypogaea	Fabaceae	Zimmerman 1978Zimmerman 1978: Zimmerman, E. C. 1978. Insects of Hawaii, Volume 9, Microlepidoptera, Part 1. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 881 pp.
Chamaecrista nictitans	Fabaceae	Zimmerman 1978Zimmerman 1978: Zimmerman, E. C. 1978. Insects of Hawaii, Volume 9, Microlepidoptera, Part 1. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 881 pp.
Gliricidia sepium	Fabaceae	Zimmerman 1978Zimmerman 1978: Zimmerman, E. C. 1978. Insects of Hawaii, Volume 9, Microlepidoptera, Part 1. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 881 pp.
Phaseolus sp.	Fabaceae	Zimmerman 1978Zimmerman 1978: Zimmerman, E. C. 1978. Insects of Hawaii, Volume 9, Microlepidoptera, Part 1. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 881 pp.
Sophora sp.	Fabaceae	Zimmerman 1978Zimmerman 1978: Zimmerman, E. C. 1978. Insects of Hawaii, Volume 9, Microlepidoptera, Part 1. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 881 pp.
Ulex europaeus	Fabaceae	Zimmerman 1978Zimmerman 1978: Zimmerman, E. C. 1978. Insects of Hawaii, Volume 9, Microlepidoptera, Part 1. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 881 pp.
Persea americana	Lauraceae	MacKay 1962aMacKay 1962a: MacKay, M. R. 1962a. Larvae of the North American Tortricinae (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 28: 1-182.; Zimmerman 1978Zimmerman 1978: Zimmerman, E. C. 1978. Insects of Hawaii, Volume 9, Microlepidoptera, Part 1. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 881 pp.
Gossypium herbaceum	Malvaceae	Heinrich 1921Heinrich 1921: Heinrich, C. 1921. Some Lepidoptera likely to be confused with the pink bollworm. Journal of Agricultural Research. 20: 807-836.
Gossypium sp.	Malvaceae	Zimmerman 1978Zimmerman 1978: Zimmerman, E. C. 1978. Insects of Hawaii, Volume 9, Microlepidoptera, Part 1. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 881 pp.
Psidium guajava	Myrtaceae	MacKay 1962aMacKay 1962a: MacKay, M. R. 1962a. Larvae of the North American Tortricinae (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 28: 1-182.; Zimmerman 1978Zimmerman 1978: Zimmerman, E. C. 1978. Insects of Hawaii, Volume 9, Microlepidoptera, Part 1. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 881 pp.
[unspecified]	Orchidaceae	Zimmerman 1978Zimmerman 1978: Zimmerman, E. C. 1978. Insects of Hawaii, Volume 9, Microlepidoptera, Part 1. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 881 pp.
Phaius sp.	Orchidaceae	Host plant table (embedded) View full screen host table here Distribution Amorbia emigratella is distributed across the southern United States and Central America. It has been accidentally introduced to all major Hawaiian islands. Links Additional photos and distribution map in North America available at Moth Photographers Group.  Male Male Female Female Male genitalia Female genitalia Late instar larva previous next