Author: (Ragonot, 1875)
Soybean tortricid
Species Overview:
Adult: 18-24 mm wingspan; forewings yellow-ochreous or yellow-brown with reddish-brown markings and striae; wings have a strong silky sheen. Markings reduced in females. Hindwings light grey or cream-ochreous.
Egg: deposited in elongate batches of 70-100 eggs on the upper surface of the leaves of the food plant.
Larva: average length 25 mm; head pale yellowish brown mixed with brownish or yellowish green; region of stemmata black; body yellowish green with a darker green dorsal line; prothoracic plate and anal plate pale yellowish brown or dark green; pinacula paler than integument, rather inconspicuous. Anal fork well developed [C. lafauryana larva ].
Pupa: shining black; in the larval habitation or spun up among dead leaves or litter on the ground.
Taxonomic Description:
Male:
Choristoneura lafauryana males
C. lafauryana male
External characters: 18-22 mm wingspan. Labial palpus, head and thorax yellowish ochreous, antenna more brown. Forewing rather uniformly broad throughout; costa distinctly curved outwards to middle, then rather straight; apex short; termen weakly convex and oblique. Costal fold reaching from beyond base to near middle, or beyond. Ground colour light yellowish ochreous; markings browner. Basal blotch weakly developed in the costal portion, darker at dorsum extending to middle; median fascia from before middle of costa to inner portion of the tornus, narrower costally, interrupted subcostally, diffuse in dorsal part; subapical blotch small, rather triangular. Strigulation rather well developed. Cilia pale ochreous. Hindwing pale grey- ochreous, cilia much paler (Yasuda, 1975b).
male genitalia C. lafauryana
aedeagus C. lafauryana
Genitalia: Tegumen distinctly narrowed posteriorly as viewed antero-dorsally, width at dorso-posterior end about one-third that at base; lateral side nearly straight as viewed antero-dorsally. Uncus narrow, nearly parallel-sided, sharply curved ventrally at one-third length from base; apex truncate, slightly wider than subbase; dorsal side with small unbranched setae, ventral area at apical angles with two groups of forked or multibranched setae. Socius well developed, as long as uncus, sharply curved at midlength and pointed antero-ventrally; anterior margin deeply emarginate; dorsal surface of distal half with dense long setae. Gnathos smooth, C-shaped as viewed laterally; straight length between base and apex as long as that of socius. Transtilla smooth. Aedeagus distinctly curved in lateral view, broadly bulged ventrally at one-third length from apex; distal end sharply narrowed ventro-apically, forming pointed gutterlike apex; apical spine not defined; aedeagal surface smooth; cornuti needle-shaped, one-half length of aedeagus. Valva subtriangular, slightly longer than basal width. Sacculus smooth; dorsal margin raised into sharp bladelike ridge; ventral margin gently curved, with long, curved, ventrally directed spinelike process; distal end of sacculus projected into small thumb-shaped process with short stem.
Female:
Choristoneura lafauryana female
C. lafauryana female
External characters: 20-24 mm. Forewing rather slender, not dilated posteriorly; costa strongly curved basally, concave subapically; apex short, somewhat prominent; termen not sinuate, slightly oblique. Ground colour more brownish than in male, strigulation darker, well developed. Markings ill-defined (remainder of median fascia in costal part of the wing, and small subapical blotch) or absent. Cilia pale ochreous. Hindwing cream ochreous, mixed with pale brownish in anal half; cilia dirty cream.
female gen. C. lafauryana
Genitalia: Caudal part of sterigma short, rather broad; anterior part broad, shallow; ductus bursae very long, cestum long with broadened terminal part; surface of corpus bursae with sculptured lines; signum strong.
Biology:
In the UK, moths fly in July and August, resting during the day amongst the foliage of the food plant, the male flying when disturbed, the female dropping to the ground. The flight period begins at sunset, the male appearing first and flying in a lively manner about the food plant; the female flies a little later towards dusk and is swifter on wing. Eggs are deposited on the upper surface of the leaves of the food plant during July and August. Larvae appear in August, and overwinter in an early instar. They continue feeding the next year until June and early July. Pupation occurs in the larval habitation or spun up among dead leaves or litter on the ground, in July (Bradley et al., 1973).
In Northern Italy, there are two generations yearly; moths flying from mid June to late July and from early August to late September; Yasuda, 1975b, studied material from Japan, collected in June.
Host plants:
Artemisia sp., Artemisia montana, Boehmeria nivea (ramie), Forsythia, Fragaria (strawberry), Lespedeze sp., Glycine (soy), Ledum palustre var. diversipilosum, Malus pumila (apple), Medicago sativa, Pyrus (pear), Ribes, Salix sp., and Trifolium repens.
Damage:
Choristoneura lafauryana has been recorded as minor pest on apple, pear, strawberry, soy and ramie. Larvae feed on the apical leaves of shoots, spun together by silken threads. Grazing of fruits is superficial. On ramie, the larvae roll the leaves and also damage the stems and growing points.
Distribution:
Spain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Northern Italy, Trans-Caucasus, Siberia, Amurland, Korea and Japan.
Pheromone:
Pheromone unknown.
Attractantia:
Z 11-14OH (Castellari, 1985)
Parasitoids:
Macrocentrus linearis (Braconidae)
Colpoclypeus florus (Walker) (Eulophidae)
Apophua suturalis (Ichneumonidae)