Author: (Linnaeus, 1758)
Rose tortrix moth
European leafroller
Species Overview:
Adult: wingspan males 15-18 mm, forewings light brown to purplish brown, with dark brown, often reddish-tinged, markings; hindwings grey.
Wingspan females 15-24 mm, forewings brownish, strigulated with dark brown, markings weak. Hindwing grey, apical area suffused with orange-yellow.
Egg: 0.9 x 0.7 mm; flat, oval and greyish green; laid in a large raft [Archips rosana egg batch ].
Larva: 22 mm long; light to dark green, but darker above and paler below, pinacula pale, with fine black dots near the insertion of the hairs; head and prothoracic plate light brown to black, head small and narrow, somewhat longer than broad; anal plate green or pale brown; roundish spiracles on prothoracic and eighth segment [Archips rosana larva ].
Pupa: 11-14 mm long; light to dark brown; abdominal segments 2 and 3 with transverse folds dorsally; front margin of transverse fold only a little reaching behind, hind margin only slightly undulate; abdominal segments with some conspicuous hairs [details pupa Archips rosana ].
Taxonomic Description:
Male:
Archips rosana male 1
Archips rosana male 2
Archips rosana males
External characters: 15-18 mm wingspan. Labial palpus brownish to yellowish brown; remaining parts of head and thorax browner. Forewing broad; costa curved outwards to middle, hardly concave subapically; apex very short, rounded; termen indistinctly concave beyond apex, not oblique in costal half, convexely rounded postmedially. Costal fold to beyond middle of costa. Ground colour light brown to purplish brown, strigulated in distal third of wing. Markings dark brown, often reddish tinged, mixed with yellowish at the margins. Inner margin of median fascia slightly convex medially, extending from one-third of costa to two-thirds of dorsum; costal third of fascia slender or ill-defined, dorsal part broad, outer margin diffuse; subterminal marking a dark stria from pre-apical spot to tornal area. Cilia rather concolorous with ground colour, suffused brownish or grey-brown in apical area, more cream in the tornal portion. Hindwing grey; cilia pale paler with brownish basal line (Razowski, 1977; Bradley et al., 1973).
male genitalia A. rosana
Genitalia: Uncus slender; socius minute; valva broadening beyond basal third, provided with short free termination. Aedeagus weakly bent with rather short coecum penis, provided with long, slender lateral process extending beyond end of main part; usually 4 cornuti present in vesica.
Female:
A. rosana male & female
Archips rosana female
Archips rosana females
External characters: 15-24 mm wingspan. Costa of forewing curved outwards in basal area, less so medially, somewhat concave subapically, without costal fold; apex fairly short, slightly prominent costally; termen sinuate postapically. Ground colour more strongly strigulated with dark brown, markings weaker, outer margin of median fascia diffuse, stria from pre-apical spot weakly developed. Hindwing grey, apical area suffused with orange-yellow; cilia cream, darker at apex, basal line brownish grey (Razowski, 1977; Bradley et al., 1973).
female gen. A. rosana
Genitalia: Sterigma fairly short with slender median process and very short cup-shaped portion; antrum slender, provided with minute sac latero-proximally; cestum well developed in basal third of ductus bursae, then in traces; signum short.
Variation:
In both sexes the forewing markings shows considerable minor variation and the general colouration tends to be darker rather than lighter. Occasionally specimens are found with the ground colour light brown, the markings contrasting strongly; more frequent are dark forms in which the markings are obscure (Bradley et al., 1973).
Biology:
Females deposit their eggs on the bark of host plants in the summer. They hatch in the next year (late February to March in Southern France and Northern Italy; May in the UK; May to June in Western Russia (St. Petersburg area). The larvae then feed in the buds and, later, within spun leaves or a (longitudinally) rolled leaf. Blossoms and young fruitlets are also attacked. The larval development lasts about 47 days. Pupation occurs in the larval habitation. In Central Europe and the UK, moths fly from July to early September. There is only one generation yearly.
Host plants:
The polyphagous larvae occur on many trees and shrubs including apple, pear and plum. Black currant (Ribes nigrum), hop (Humulus), raspberry (Rubus idaeus), hawthorn (Crataegus), privet (Ligustrum) and, occasionally, Abies is also attacked. In the United States, the larvae are common on Ligustrum .
Other recorded hosts are Acer, Alnus, Betula, Cistus, Corylus, Cydonia, Fraxinus, Hippophae, Laurus, Lonicera, Medicago, Morus, Myrtus, Plantanus, Populus, Prunus, Quercus, Rhododendron, Rosa, Salix, Syringa, Tamarix, Tilia, Ulmus, Urtica, Vaccinium and Viburnum.
Damage:
damaged apple blossom (rosana)
malformed pears (A. rosana)
Leaf feeding is of little consequence but attacks on flowers and fruitlets can be serious, causing direct crop losses or, as on apple, the formation of russeted, badly misshapen and unmarketable fruit.
Distribution:
Generally distributed and often abundant throughout Europe, including Scandinavia to the Arctic Circle and Trans-Caucasus; Asia Minor; coastal regions of North America.
Pheromone:
Z 11-14Ac : 100 *
E 11-14Ac : 0.1 *
Z 11-14OH : 10 * (Guerin et al., 1985)
Components marked with * are involved in attraction.
Parasitoids:
Of egg:
Trichogramma cacoeciae Marchal (Trichogrammatidae)
Of larva:
Colpoclypeus florus (Walker) (Eulophidae)
Oedemopsis scabricula (Grav.) (Ichneumonidae)
Pseudoperichaeta nigrolineata (Walker) (Tachinidae)
Of pupa:
Itoplectis maculator F. (Ichneumonidae)
Lissonota sp. (Ichneumonidae)
Pimpla turionellae L. (Ichneumonidae)
Cyclogastrella deplanata Nees (Braconidae)
Monodontomerus aereus Walker (Braconidae)
Brachymeria pseudorugosa Masi (Braconidae)
Meteorus ictericus Nees (Braconidae)