Type

Native

Taxonomy

Syndemis afflictana (Walker) (Tortricidae: Tortricinae: Archipini)

Common name: gray leafroller moth

Synonyms: fuscolineana (Lozotaenia)

Note: Specimens resembling S. afflictana from California are likely one of five undescribed species proposed to exist by Rubinoff et al. (2017). For the purposes of this site, we treat all six species (true S. afflictana plus the five undescribed species) as a single entity.

Adult Recognition

FWL: 8.5-10.5 mm

Head whitish gray; thorax mousy gray; ground color of forewing pale gray with dark gray basal and median fasciaefasciae:
plural of "fascia"
; distaldistal:
farthest from body, distant from point of attachment
margin of basal fasciabasal fascia:
the fascia (transverse band) at the base of the forewing
bent at nearly 90º angle, conspicuously outlined in black; median fasciafascia:
a dark transverse band on the forewing
nearly straight, proximalproximal:
toward the base, nearest the body or point of attachment
margin with similar black outline; male forewing with small costal fold; hindwing gray with faint strigulae.

Male genitalia are characterized by a short uncusuncus:
a sclerotized process which is fused to the posterodorsal margin of tergum IX
; sociisocii:
a pair of lightly sclerotized setose lobes
obsolete; valvaevalvae:
plural of "valva"
trapezoidal. Female genitalia are characterized by a bowl-shaped sterigmasterigma:
the sclerotized region surrounding the female ostium bursae
with dorsomedial process; base of ductus bursaeductus bursae:
a membranous tube connecting the ostium bursae to the corpus bursae
sclerotized; corpus bursaecorpus bursae:
a dilated membranous sac at the anterior end of the bursa copulatrix
with long, thorn-like signumsignum:
a sclerotized projection or patch on the interior of the corpus bursae
. 

Larval Morphology

Mature larva up to 20 mm in length; head green; body yellowish green with yellow and cream longitudinal stripes. A detailed description of larval chaetotaxychaetotaxy:
the arrangement of setae (in reference to Lepidoptera larvae), often depicted on a "setal map"
has not been published. 

Similar Species

Syndemis afflictana could be confused with other gray tortricids, such as some species of Acleris, Cnephasia, or Decodes, but Syndemis is the only one of these to have a forewing costal foldforewing costal fold:
a flap or fold at the base of the forewing that contains specialized sex scales
in the male. The European Syndemis musculana is very similar, but typically has a brownish wash to its forewing along with subtle differences in the genitalia.

Biology

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..

In British Columbia, Syndemis afflictana overwinters as a penultimate-instar or mature larva. Larvae feed from May to early June, pupation occurs in early June, and adults fly in mid- to late June. Larvae emerge soon after and feed until the onset of cold weather. Further east, adults can by found as early as April, continuing through the end of June.

Syndemis afflictana is highly polyphagous species, having been recorded from a large variety of plants, including fir (Abies spp.), willow (Salix spp.), birch (Betula spp.), and apple (Malus spp.). In contrast, populations in California appear to be monophagous on certain conifers, with a single undescribed species feeding each on fir (Abies spp.), monterey pine (Pinus radiata), coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), and two undescribed species whose hosts are unknown.

Host plant	Host plant family	Reference(s)
Alnus incana	Betulaceae	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.
Betula papyrifera	Betulaceae	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.
Betula sp.	Betulaceae	Freeman 1958Freeman 1958: Freeman, T. N. 1958. The Archipinae of North America (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 7 (Vol. 90): 1-89.
Cornus canadensis	Cornaceae	Ferguson 1975Ferguson 1975: Ferguson, D. C. 1975. Host records for Lepidoptera reared in eastern North America. United States Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletin 1521. 49 pp.
Sequoia sempervirens	Cupressaceae	Rubinoff et al. 2017Rubinoff et al. 2017: Rubinoff, D., San Jose, M., Powell, J. A. 2017. Sex-biased secondary contact obscures ancient speciation onto relictual host trees in central California moths ( Syndemis : Tortricidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 109: 388-403.
Morella caroliniensis	Myricaceae	Ferguson 1975Ferguson 1975: Ferguson, D. C. 1975. Host records for Lepidoptera reared in eastern North America. United States Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletin 1521. 49 pp.
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.
Abies lasiocarpa	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.
Abies sp.	Pinaceae	Walsingham 1879Walsingham 1879: Walsingham, Lord T. de G. 1879. Illustrations of Typical Specimens of Lepidoptera Heterocera in the Collection of the British Museum 4: 1-84. British Museum, London.; Forbes 1923Forbes 1923: Forbes, W. M. T. 1923. The Lepidoptera of New York and neighboring states. Primitive forms, Microlepidoptera, Pyraloids, Bombyces. Cornell Univ. Argic. Exp. Sta., Mem. 68. 729 pp.; Freeman 1958Freeman 1958: Freeman, T. N. 1958. The Archipinae of North America (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 7 (Vol. 90): 1-89.; Powell 1964bPowell 1964b: Powell, J. A. 1964b. Biological and taxonomic studies on tortricine moths, with reference to the species in California. University of California Publications in Entomology. Vol. 32. 317 pp.; Rubinoff et al. 2017Rubinoff et al. 2017: Rubinoff, D., San Jose, M., Powell, J. A. 2017. Sex-biased secondary contact obscures ancient speciation onto relictual host trees in central California moths ( Syndemis : Tortricidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 109: 388-403.
Picea sp.	Pinaceae	Forbes 1923Forbes 1923: Forbes, W. M. T. 1923. The Lepidoptera of New York and neighboring states. Primitive forms, Microlepidoptera, Pyraloids, Bombyces. Cornell Univ. Argic. Exp. Sta., Mem. 68. 729 pp.
Pinus radiata	Pinaceae	Powell & De Benedictis 1996; Rubinoff et al. 2017Rubinoff et al. 2017: Rubinoff, D., San Jose, M., Powell, J. A. 2017. Sex-biased secondary contact obscures ancient speciation onto relictual host trees in central California moths ( Syndemis : Tortricidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 109: 388-403.
Pseudotsuga menziesii	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.
Malus pumila	Rosaceae	Powell 1964bPowell 1964b: Powell, J. A. 1964b. Biological and taxonomic studies on tortricine moths, with reference to the species in California. University of California Publications in Entomology. Vol. 32. 317 pp.
Malus sp.	Rosaceae	Powell 1964bPowell 1964b: Powell, J. A. 1964b. Biological and taxonomic studies on tortricine moths, with reference to the species in California. University of California Publications in Entomology. Vol. 32. 317 pp.
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.; Powell 1964bPowell 1964b: Powell, J. A. 1964b. Biological and taxonomic studies on tortricine moths, with reference to the species in California. University of California Publications in Entomology. Vol. 32. 317 pp.

Host plant table (embedded)

View full screen host table here

Distribution

True Sydemis afflictana is broadly distributed in the northern United States and southern Canada, as far south as in the Appalachians as Tennessee and North Carolina and as far south as Washington in the west. Five undescribed species closely related to S. afflictana occur in California (Rubinoff et al. 2017Rubinoff et al. 2017:
Rubinoff, D., San Jose, M., Powell, J. A. 2017. Sex-biased secondary contact obscures ancient speciation onto relictual host trees in central California moths ( Syndemis : Tortricidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 109: 388-403.).

Links

Additional photos and a distribution map of this species in North America are available at Moth Photographers Group.