Native
Ecdytolopha insiticiana Zeller (Tortricidae: Olethreutinae: Grapholitini)
Common names: locust twig borer
FWLFWL:
forewing length; the distance from the base of the forewing to the apex, including fringe
: 9.5-13.5 mm (males); 9.0-13.5 mm (females)
Forewings are dark brown basally and light gray or white apically with a dark-brown mark on the dorsumdorsum:
the lower (usually posterior) or inner margin 
near the tornustornus:
the junction of the termen and dorsum 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
. The hindwings are brown, lighter basally.
Male genitalia are characterized by a the absence of an uncusuncus:
a sclerotized process which is fused to the posterodorsal margin of tergum IX
, long valvaevalva:
an appendage flanking the intromittent organ that is used to clasp the female during copulation
with an undifferentiated cuculluscucullus:
the distal portion of the male valva
, and deciduous cornuticornutus:
spines used to anchor the male vesica in the female bursa during copulation
in the vesica. Female genitalia are characterized by a deep invagination of sternum VII where the ostiumostium:
see ostium bursae 
is located, two signasignum:
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
, and a sclerotizedsclerotized:
hardened; usually in reference to larval structures or adult genitalia 
patch near the junction of the corpus bursaecorpus bursae:
a dilated membranous sac at the anterior end of the bursa copulatrix and ductus bursaeductus bursae:
a membranous tube connecting the ostium bursae to the corpus bursae
.
The following account is summarized from MacKay (1959)MacKay (1959):
MacKay, M. R. 1959. Larvae of the North American Olethreutidae (Lepidoptera). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 10: 1-338. and Adamski & Brown (2001).
Late instar larvae are approximately 15-18 mm long with a pinkish-red abdomen and large, conspicuous pinaculapinaculum:
flattened sclerotized plates on a caterpillar that bear the setae
. The head and prothoracic shieldprothoracic shield:
a sclerotized plate on the dorsal surface of the prothorax 
is yellowish or reddish brown and may have faint mottling. 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" 
is absent. Other laval characters include: prothoracic L-pinaculum subrectangular; D2s on A8 on same pinaculumpinaculum:
flattened sclerotized plates on a caterpillar that bear the setae; and SV setal counts on A1,2,7,8,9 as 3:3:3:2:2.
Ecdytolopha insiticiana appears similar to other members of the genus. Males can be separated from other Ecdytolopha species by a hair pencil in a narrow concavity on the anal marginanal margin:
see anal angle 
of the hindwing. Females can be separated by genitalic characters; see Adamski and Brown (2001) for keys to females.
Larvae are similar to other species in the Cryptophlebia-Ecdytolopha group, with an enlarged L-pinaculum on the prothoraxprothorax:
the most anterior thoracic segment
that extends beneath (and usually beyond) the spiracle. Larvae of Gymnandrosoma can be separated from those of Ecdytolopha by the distance between the V setae on A9: approximately the same as the distance between Vs on A8 in Ecdytolopha and 1.2-2.0 times the distance between Vs on A8 in Gymnandrosoma.
The following account is summarized from Adamski & Brown (2001) and references therein.
Ecdytolopha insiticiana completes a single annual generation in the North and two annual generations in the South. Adults are present May-June, and again in July-September for the second generation.
Females lay eggs on news shoots of the host. Larvae bore into new growth and induce the formation of elongate galls. Larvae complete seven instars. Those of the last generation leave the gall and overwinter in flattened cocoons constructed in leaf litter. Pupation occurs in the spring.
The primary larval host is black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia). This species can be a pest in nurseries and plantations, causing disfiguration of trees.
| Host plant | Host plant family | Reference(s) |
| Robinia pseudoacacia | Fabaceae | Harman & Berisford 1979 |
| Robinia sp. | Fabaceae | Fernald 1882aFernald 1882a: Fernald, C. H. 1882a. A synonymical catalogue of the described Tortricidae of North America, north of Mexico. Transactions of the American Entomological Society. 10: 1-64.; Heinrich 1926Heinrich 1926: Heinrich, C. 1926. Revision of the North American moths of the subfamilies Laspeyresiinae and Olethreutinae. Bulletin of the United States National Museum. 132: 1-216.; Kimball & Jones 1943; MacKay 1959MacKay 1959: MacKay, M. R. 1959. Larvae of the North American Olethreutidae (Lepidoptera). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 10: 1-338.; 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.; 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.; Harman & Berisford 1979; 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. |
| Wisteria sp. | Fabaceae | Heinrich 1926Heinrich 1926: Heinrich, C. 1926. Revision of the North American moths of the subfamilies Laspeyresiinae and Olethreutinae. Bulletin of the United States National Museum. 132: 1-216. |
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Ecdytolopha insiticiana is widely distributed in the continental U.S. and southern Canada, although it is more common in the East.
