Orthotaenia Stephens
Type species: undulana Dennis and Schiffermüller
DIAGNOSIS
External characters:
Venation:
Forewing: All veins separate.
Hindwing: M 3 and CuA 1 connate; R -M 1 approximate basally.
Forewing shape and markings:
Orthotaenia undulana adults
Orthotaenia undulana : Forewing relatively broad, with broad fasciae.
Additional characters:
Hindwing with large anal fold; posterior tibia with pencil of long scent scales.
Genitalia:
Male:
male genitalia O. undulana
Uncus short, folded as in Hedya, subtriangular, apex pointed; socius broad, lateral, hairy; anterior linkage of tuba analis producing medially, provided with ventro-anterior group of long setae. Basal opening large; sacculus broadly angulate, with strong, spined ventral process before neck, the latter scarcely spined; cucullus slender, with spines extending anteriorly. Aedeagus with single cornutus with apical spine; caulis fairly long.
Female:
female genitalia O. undulana
Sterigma with cup-shaped central part, accompanied by a pair of lateral plates and posterior convexity. Colliculum large, inner sclerite developed; ductus seminalis situated anterior to colliculum; corpus bursae small, with single, concave, sculptured signum.
Early stages:
Swatschek, 1958, provides a diagnosis for the larvae of over 20 species of 'Olethreutes'' (in fact larvae of several genera such as Hedya, Celypha, Pseudosciaphila, Olethreutes, Phiaris, Argyroploce, Apotomis, Stictea, Pseudohermenias, Eudemis and Orthotaenia).
Crochets on abdominal prolegs biordinal; D1 and SD1 on separate pinacula on A9, or SV group bisetose on A7. Sutura coronalis significantly longer than greatest width of adfrontals, or L1 and L2 more or less equal in length.
Biology:
One or two generation yearly; last instar larva hibernate; larvae are polyphagous, living on various plants as Vaccinium, Betula, Acer, Pirus or Urtica.
Distribution:
Palaearctic and Nearctic Regions.