Native
Archips alberta (McDunnough) (Tortricidae: Tortricinae: Archipini)
FWLFWL:
forewing length; the distance from the base of the forewing to the apex, including fringe
: 11-14 mm
Head and thorax pale brown to pale dull pink; FW with ground color gray-brown, sometimes heavily suffused with dull pink scaling; basal, median, and terminal fasciaefascia:
a dark transverse band on the forewing
brown, bordered with distinct black lines; male with forewing costal foldforewing costal fold:
a flap or fold at the base of the forewing that contains specialized sex scales
; HW white to pale brown, distinct strigulae present.
Male genitalia characterized by broad, somewhat triangular valvaevalva:
an appendage flanking the intromittent organ that is used to clasp the female during copulation
; a moderate, finger-like uncusuncus:
a sclerotized process which is fused to the posterodorsal margin of tergum IX
, and a pistol-shaped phallusphallus:
the male intromittent organ (penis); see "aedeagus" 
which is somewhat hooked apically in some specimens. Female genitalia characterized by sterigmasterigma:
the sclerotized region surrounding the female ostium bursae 
with well-developed posteriorposterior:
after, to the rear, toward anal end 
lobes; a long, membranous ductus bursaeductus bursae:
a membranous tube connecting the ostium bursae to the corpus bursae
; and corpus bursaecorpus bursae:
a dilated membranous sac at the anterior end of the bursa copulatrix
with a long, well-developed signumsignum:
a sclerotized projection or patch on the interior of the corpus bursae
.
The following account is summarized from MacKay (1962a).
Mature larva at least 15 mm in length; width of head 1.1-1.7 mm; head reddish brown, black laterally; prothoracic shieldprothoracic shield:
a sclerotized plate on the dorsal surface of the prothorax 
, legs brown; body, anal shieldanal shield:
a sclerotized plate on the dorsal surface of the last abdominal segment (in larvae) 
green; anal fork moderately developed; SV goup on A1, 2, 7, 8, 9 numbering 3:3:3:2:2.
A detailed description of larval chaetotaxychaetotaxy:
the arrangement of setae (in reference to Lepidoptera larvae), often depicted on a "setal map"
is available in MacKay (1962a).
Archips alberta is most similar to A. tsuganus (Powell), an uncommonly encountered species which also feeds on hemlock (Tsuga spp.). Adults of A. tsuganus possess forewings with less distinct banding. Male genitalia of A. tsuganus have a larger dorsaldorsal:
upper, to the top, on the back 
projection on the terminal portion of the sacculussacculus:
the ventral margin of the male valva 
than in A. alberta.
The following account is summarized from Duncan (2006)Duncan (2006):
Duncan, R. W. 2006. Conifer defoliators of British Columbia. Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Pacific Forestry Centre, Victoria, British Columbia. 359 pp..
Young larvae pine the needles of various species of Pinaceae, including hemlock (Tsuga spp.), fir (Abies spp.), larch (Larix spp.), and spruce (Picea spp.) and web the needles together. Older larvae feed externally on webbed needles and cones. Larvae overwinter as first instars. Pupation occurs in the nest of webbed needles. Most adults have been recorded in July and August, suggesting a single generation per year.
| Host plant | Host plant family | Reference(s) |
| Abies balsamea | 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 glauca | 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 mariana | Pinaceae | MacKay 1962aMacKay 1962a: MacKay, M. R. 1962a. Larvae of the North American Tortricinae (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 28: 1-182.; 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 sp. | Pinaceae | Freeman 1958Freeman 1958: Freeman, T. N. 1958. The Archipinae of North America (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 7 (Vol. 90): 1-89. |
| Tsuga canadensis | 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. |
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Archips alberta is distributed across much of the northern United States and Canada, from Newfoundland and Maine west to British Columbia and Alaska, south to northern Minnesota and the upper peninsula of Michigan. Rare, isolated records exist for California, Utah, and Colorado.
