Author: (Diakonoff 1948)
Oriental tea tortrix
Species Overview:
Adult: wingspan 20-30 mm (females larger than males); males have dark orange-fuscous forewings with brown markings; the median fascia is divided into a short dark costal part and a longer and lighter dorsal part. Hindwing ochreous-greyish, pale ochreous along costal 1/3. Markings reduced in females.
Egg: pale greenish yellow at the time of oviposition, becoming pale yellow within a few days; deposited in an oval-shaped egg mass, 10 x 5 mm in size, on the upper surfaces of leaves [Homona magnanima egg batch 1 ; H. magnanima egg batch on grape ].
Larva: average length 23 mm; head brown with black markings; body yellowish green to dark green; prothoracic plate brown with a dark border posteriorly; thoracic legs brown. Anal fork developed [Homona magnanima larva 1 ; Homona magnanima larva 2 ].
Pupa: [Homona magnanima pupa ].
Taxonomic Description:
Male:
Homona magnanima male 1
Homona magnanima male 2
Homona magnanima male 3
Homona magnanima adults
H. magnanima male & female
External characters: 20-26 mm wingspan. Labial palpus pale yellowish brown; head, antenna and thorax greyish ochreous. Forewing weakly expanding posteriorly, costa bent to middle, apex short, termen hardly sinuate. Costal fold large, semicircular, reaching to 1/3 of costa. Ground colour dark orange fuscous, markings brownish. Basal blotch atrophied; median fascia divided into two parts: a sharply defined oblique, elongate-ovate patch on costa before middle; a broad suffusion running from below the above-mentioned patch obliquely to dorsum before apex. Cilia light ochreous with ferruginous tip. Hindwing ochreous-greyish, pale ochreous along costal 1/3; cilia light ochreous (Yasuda, 1975b).
male genitalia H. magnanima
Genitalia: Uncus with dilated top; socii elongate, drooping. Valva semiovate, sacculus very strong, strongly sclerotized, ending in a large thorn; transtilla narrowed medially. Aedeagus long, little curved, pointed, with some slender cornuti.
Female:
Homona magnanima female 1
Homona magnanima female 2
Homona magnanima female 3
External characters: 22-30 mm wingspan. Forewing elongate-rectangular, with costa abruptly and strongly arced at base, straight in middle, slightly sinuate before apex, apex rounded, projecting, termen sinuate above, rounded beneath. Ground colour pale yellowish ochreous sprinkled with brown strigulae; markings reduced, ferruginous brown. Hindwing ochreous-greyish, apical half yellowish.
female gen. H. magnanima
Genitalia: Caudal part of sterigma broad, anterior (cup-shaped) part very long; ductus bursae very long and narrow, cestum long. Corpus bursae large, ovoid; signum a large hook.
Taxonomic note:
Razowski, 1987a, transfers magnanima to Choristoneura without properly motivating this decision. He did however state that species of Choristoneura have all veins of the forewing separate, while in Homona magnanima, veins R4 and R5 of the forewing are stalked.
According to Razowski, the structure of the uncus of the male genitalia is the only autapomorphy of Choristoneura. When the uncus of Homona magnanima is compared to the uncus of the Oriental Homona coffearia, it appears that there is no reason to have both species described in different genera. The striking resemblance of the two species (the median fascia being divided into a small and dark coloured costal part and a light coloured dorsal part, a character that also pertains for the Japanese species Homona issikii), adds to this conclusion.
More research is needed to decide on the correct genus for the species complex, but for now, transferring magnanima to Choristoneura would only cause confusion.
Biology:
larva feeding on grape
This species has four generations a year. An additional generation is often observed in the southern part of Japan. In Central Japan, the first moth flight occurs from mid
April to mid June, the second flight from mid June to the end of July, the third flight from early August to early September, and the fourth flight from early September to mid November. The population density is generally high in the summer to the autumn. The adult female of Homona magnanima in Japan lays egg masses of oval shape, 10 x 5 mm in size, on the upper surfaces of leaves. The egg period is 7-8 days in summer (June-August) and 12-13 days in spring (April-May) and autumn (September-November). The larval period is 29-30 days in the summer to the autumn. The newly hatched larva disperses from the egg mass and makes a nest by webbing two mature leaves together. The more mature larva makes a large nest by webbing several mature leaves together. First generation larvae enter diapause in the fourth or fifth instar. These larvae do not make any hibernaculum and occasionally feed during the warmer winter days. The mature larva pupates inside a leaf nest. The pupal period is 7 days in the summer and 9 days in the spring and the autumn (Tamaki, 1991).
Host plants:
Larvae are polyphagous; apple, pear, peach and tea are among the plants attacked. A list of the host plants: Malus pumila, Rosa sp., Pyrus simoni, Prunus x yedoensis, Prunus persica, Camellia sinensis, Camellia japonica, Cleyera japonica, Podocarpus macrophyllus, Podocarpus nagi, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Larix leptolepis, Abies firma, Taxus cuspidata, Wisteria floribunda, Glycine max, Olea europeae, Ligustrum japonica, Myrica rubra, Glochidion obovatum, Euonymus japonica, Paeonia suffruticosa, Nandina domestica, Punica granatum, Pittosperum tobira, Cinnamomum camphora, Diospyros kaki, Citrus unshiu, Vaccinium bracteatum, Vitis, Viburnum awabuki, Salix sp., Juglans ailanthifolia, Quercus phillyraeoides, Quercus acutissima, Quercus variabilis, Melia azedarach and Pieris japonica.
Damage:
H. magnanima damage on tea leaves
H. magnanima damage on tea leaves
damage on persimmon (bud)
damage on persimmon (fruit)
In Japan, this species occurs abundantly enough to be of economic importance. The larva is a leaf-tier, webbing two or tree leaves together as shelter. On tea, damage by this species is often concentrated in a particular part of the bush.
Distribution:
Japan (Honshu, Sikoku, Kyushu, Amami Is.), China, Korea.
Pheromone:
Z 11-14Ac : 140
Z 9-12Ac : 15
11-12Ac : 5
(Noguchi et al., 1979)
Attractantia:
Z 11-14Ac : 30
Z 9-12Ac : 3
11-12Ac : 1
(Ando et al., 1981)
or
Z 11-14Ac : 9
Z 9-12Ac : 1
(Noguchi et al., 1981)
Parasitoids:
Campoplex homonae Sonan (Ichneumonidae)
Pimpla parnarae Viereck (Ichneumonidae)
Teleutaea minamikawai Momoi (Ichneumonidae)
Brachymeria obscurata Walker (Chalcididae)
Trichogramma dendrolimi Matsumura (Trichogrammatidae)
Homona issikii Yasuda
Homona issikii male
Homona issikii, a species found on Cryptomeria japonica in Japan, Korea and China, resembles Homona magnanima. In Japan, the species has also been erroneously identified as Homona coffearia.
The species is slightly smaller than Homona magnanima, the basal blotch is more conspicuous and the subapical spot is triangular, reaching to middle of termen, while it is semiovate in Homona magnanima.
The larval host plant is Cryptomeria japonica.