Argyrotaenia quadrifasciana

Type

Native

Taxonomy

Argyrotaenia quadrifasciana (Fernald) (Tortricidae: Tortricinae: Archipini)

Common names: lesser all-green leaf roller, four-banded leaf roller

Adult Recognition

FWLFWL:
forewing length; the distance from the base of the forewing to the apex, including fringe
: 6.5-8.5 mm

Forewings are bright yellow with variable orange to orange-brown markings and reticulationsreticulations:
covered with a network of lines or mesh; in reference to wing pattern, usually thin horizontal lines
. There are often two conspicuous orange fasciaefascia:
a dark transverse band on the forewing
running from costacosta:
the anterior margin of each wing
to dorum, but these may be obscured by the reticulated pattern in some individuals. The male hindwings are dark brown, while the female hindwings are golden brown. 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 relatively short, but still well-developed uncusuncus:
a sclerotized process which is fused to the posterodorsal margin of tergum IX
; reduced sociisocii:
a pair of lightly sclerotized setose lobes
; and rounded, membranous 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 a ductus bursaeductus bursae:
a membranous tube connecting the ostium bursae to the corpus bursae
with a sclerotizedsclerotized:
hardened; usually in reference to larval structures or adult genitalia
plate near the ostiumostium:
see ostium bursae
and a robust, hook-shaped signumsignum:
a sclerotized projection or patch on the interior of the corpus bursae
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 larvae 12-17 mm in length; width of head 1.2-1.4 mm; head, prothoracic shieldprothoracic shield:
a sclerotized plate on the dorsal surface of the prothorax
, body yellowish green, unmarked; SV goup on A1, 2, 7, 8, 9 numbering 3:3:3:2:2.

Detailed figures of larval chaetotaxychaetotaxy:
the arrangement of setae (in reference to Lepidoptera larvae), often depicted on a "setal map"
are available in MacKay (1962a).

Similar Species

Adults of Argyrotaenia quercifoliana may appear similar to those of A. quadrifasciana . The two species can be distinguished by forewing color: bright yellow to orange in A. quadrifasciana versus pale yellow in A. quercifoliana. In addition, the hindwings of A. quercifoliana are white, while those of A. quadrifasciana are dark brown or golden brown.

The green, unmarked larva can be confused with the larva of many other tortricids, including other species of Argyrotaenia, Epiphyas postvittana, and Choristoneura rosaceana.

Biology

The following account is summarized from Chapman & Lienk (1971).

Argyrotaenia quadrifasciana completes one generation per year. Adults are present in late June and July.

Females deposit eggs in masses that contain approximately 50 individual eggs on the upper surface of leaves of the host plant. Early instar larvae skeletonize the underside of a leaf near the midrib under a patch of silk. Third instar larvae leave the feeding site and construct a hibernaculum in the crotches of twigs and bark crevices, where they overwinter until the following spring. In the spring, larvae leave the hibernaculum and construct a nest by webbing together terminal shoot growth, where they feed inside on shoots and buds. Pupation occurs in the final larval feeding site.

Larvae of Argyrotaenia quadrifasciana have only been recorded feeding on plants in the Rosaceae.

Host plant	Host plant family	Reference(s)
Amelanchier alnifolia	Rosaceae	Pogue & Lavigne 1981
Amelanchier sp.	Rosaceae	Freeman 1944Freeman 1944: Freeman, T. N. 1944. A review of the North American species of the genus Argyrotaenia Stephens (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae). Scientific Agriculture. 25: 81-94., 1958; 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.
Crataegus sp.	Rosaceae	Freeman 1944Freeman 1944: Freeman, T. N. 1944. A review of the North American species of the genus Argyrotaenia Stephens (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae). Scientific Agriculture. 25: 81-94., 1958; MacKay 1962aMacKay 1962a: MacKay, M. R. 1962a. Larvae of the North American Tortricinae (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 28: 1-182.; Godfrey et al. 1987Godfrey et al. 1987: Godfrey, G. L., Cashatt, E. D., Glenn, M. O. 1987. Microlepidoptera from the Sandy Creek and Illinois River Region: A annotated checklist of the suborders Dacnonypha, Monotrysia, and Ditrysia (in part) (Insecta). Spec. Publ. 7. Illinois Natural History Survey.
Malus sylvestris	Rosaceae	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).; Frost 1926aFrost 1926a: Frost, S.W. 1926a. Apple leaf-rollers of the genera Amorbia, Archips, Eulia, Pandemis and Peronea. Journal of Economic Entomology. 19: 813-819.
Malus sp.	Rosaceae	Chapman & Lienk 1971
Prunus pensylvanica	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.
Prunus serotina	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.
Prunus virginiana	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.
Prunus sp.	Rosaceae	Freeman 1958Freeman 1958: Freeman, T. N. 1958. The Archipinae of North America (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 7 (Vol. 90): 1-89.; MacKay 1962aMacKay 1962a: MacKay, M. R. 1962a. Larvae of the North American Tortricinae (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 28: 1-182.
Pyrus sp.	Rosaceae	Freeman 1958Freeman 1958: Freeman, T. N. 1958. The Archipinae of North America (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 7 (Vol. 90): 1-89.