Native
Platynota idaeusalis (Walker) (Tortricidae: Tortricinae: Sparganothini)
Common names: tufted apple bud moth
Synonyms: dioptrica (Phylacteritis), sentana (Platynota )
FWL: 6.0-12.5 mm
Forewings are gray with reddish brown to dark brown markings. Hindwings are grayish brown to dark brown. This species' common name is derived from the tufts of dark raised scales on the forewings. Labial palpilabial palpi:
a pair of sensory appendages that project from the lower part of the head; usually covered in scales and three-segmented
are elongate in both sexes. Males have a forewing costal foldforewing costal fold:
a flap or fold at the base of the forewing that contains specialized sex scales
. Hindwings are pale brown.
Male genitalia characterized by a long, slender uncusuncus:
a sclerotized process which is fused to the posterodorsal margin of tergum IX
; elongate, well-developed sociisocii:
a pair of lightly sclerotized setose lobes
; and rounded, elliptical valvaevalvae:
plural of "valva"
with a well-sclerotized dorsaldorsal:
upper, to the top, on the back 
margin. Female genitalia characterized by a bowl-like sterigmasterigma:
the sclerotized region surrounding the female ostium bursae 
; and signumsignum:
a sclerotized projection or patch on the interior of the corpus bursae
present as a small, band-like sclerite at the base of the corpus bursaecorpus bursae:
a dilated membranous sac at the anterior end of the bursa copulatrix
.
The following account is summarized from MacKay (1962a) and Powell & Brown (2012).
Mature larva approximately 13-18 mm in length; width of head 1.2 mm on average; head brown with darker laterallateral:
to the side
pigmentation; prothoracic shieldprothoracic shield:
a sclerotized plate on the dorsal surface of the prothorax 
brown with black laterallateral:
to the side markings; abdomen, anal shieldanal shield:
a sclerotized plate on the dorsal surface of the last abdominal segment (in larvae) 
brownish-green with darker pinaculapinacula:
flattened sclerotized plates on a caterpillar that bear the setae
; anal fork present with 5-8 teeth; SV group on A1, 2, 7, 8, 9 numbering 3:3:3:2:2.
Detailed description and figures of larval chaetotaxychaetotaxy:
the arrangement of setae (in reference to Lepidoptera larvae), often depicted on a "setal map"
are available in MacKay (1962a) and Powell & Brown (2012).
The combination of elongate labial palpilabial palpi:
a pair of sensory appendages that project from the lower part of the head; usually covered in scales and three-segmented and grayish forewings with reddish-brown markings is sufficient to separate this species from most other North American Tortricidae. A genitalic dissection can be used to confirm identity.
MacKay (1962a) stated that larvae of Platynota could be separated from similar species of Sparganothis by the small dorsaldorsal:
upper, to the top, on the back pinacula on A1-8, which are slightly elongate and cream colored in living individuals.
The following account is summarized from Chapman & Lienk (1971), Boyne et al. (1985), and Powell & Brown (2012).
Platynota idaeusalis completes two generations per year. Adults are present May-July and again in August-September.
Females deposit eggs in large masses that contain approximately 100 individual eggs on the upper surface of leaves. Early instars construct a silk web on the underside of a leaf along the midrib and feed inside. Later instars feed within a shelter constructed of rolled, folded, or tied leaves. Larvae can cause fruit damage by webbing leaves to fruit and feeding on the surface of the fruit. Larval feeding can lead to early fruit drop as well as cosmetic damage. Pupation occurs in a folded or rolled leaf.
Platynota idaeusalis is a pest of apple in the eastern U.S., although the diverse list of host plants suggests that the larvae are general feeders.
| Host plant | Host plant family | Reference(s) |
| Solidago sp. | Asteraceae | Powell & Brown 2012 |
| Vernonia noveboracensis | Asteraceae | 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). |
| Betula sp. | Betulaceae | Dyar 1904Dyar 1904: Dyar, H. G. 1904. The Lepidoptera of Kootenai District of British Columbia. Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 27: 779-938. |
| Viburnum prunifolium | Caprifoliaceae | Meyrick MS 1938Meyrick MS 1938: Meyrick MS 1938. Unpublished manuscript by E. Meyrick at BMNH, data captured by Gaeden Robinson. |
| Cornus drummondii | Cornaceae | Powell 2006Powell 2006: Powell, J. A. 2006. Database of Lepidoptera rearing lots, 1960-2005. University of California Berkeley, CA. |
| Vaccinium sp. | Ericaceae | Chapman & Lienk 1971; Powell & Brown 2012 |
| Trifolium sp. | Fabaceae | Powell & Brown 2012 |
| Maclura pomifera | Moraceae | Chapman & Lienk 1971 |
| Fraxinus nigra | Oleaceae | 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. |
| Sanguinaria canadensis | Papaveraceae | Powell & Brown 2012 |
| Pinus banksiana | 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. |
| Clematis sp. | Ranunculaceae | Dyar 1904Dyar 1904: Dyar, H. G. 1904. The Lepidoptera of Kootenai District of British Columbia. Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 27: 779-938. |
| Malus sp. | Rosaceae | Hogmire & Howitt 1979; Boyne & Rock 1986; Rock et al. 1993Rock et al. 1993: Rock, C. G., Stinner, R. E., Bacheler, J. E., Hull, L. A., Hogmire, H. W. 1993. Predicting geographical and within-season variation in male flights of four fruit pests. Environmental Entomology. 22: 716-725.; Mawbry & Rock 1986; Meagher & Hull 1986, 1987, 1991 |
| Malus pumila | Rosaceae | Santos-Gonzalez et al. 1998 |
| Prunus persica | Rosaceae | Santos-Gonzalez et al. 1998 |
| Rubus idaeus | 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). |
| Rubus sp. | Rosaceae | Powell & Brown 2012 |
| Salix sp. | Salicaceae | 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. |
| Solanum sp. | Solanaceae | Chapman & Lienk 1971 |
| Vitis sp. | Vitaceae | 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. |
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Platynota idaeusalis is widely distributed southern Canada and the contiguous United States and is especially common in the east. It is absent from the southwestern U.S. and California and is rare in the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains.
