Author: (Walsingham, 1900)
Species Overview:
Adult: wingspan 12-17 mm. Head yellowish brown. Forewing ground colour greyish with brownish ochreous strigulae and amber brown markings; outer margin of basal patch irregular, not angulated. Apical spot less conspicuous than in Retinia monopunctata. Hindwing shining satiny brown, apex slightly paler.
Taxonomic Description:
Male:
Retinia cristata adult 1
Retinia cristata adult 2
External characters: Wingspan 12-17 mm. Antenna brown, very faintly and narrowly banded with white. Palpus ferruginous, whitish toward apex and on inner side. Head yellowish brown. Thorax a dark rich amber brown with some whitish scaling on posterior half of tegula. Forewing with termen slightly indented below the apex; ground colour greyish; basal patch dark amber brown, more or less blotched with dull silvery with a few interspersed black scales, the outer margin irregular, not angulated; beyond this a pale band consisting of two vertical silvery metallic bars separated by a median vertical bar of brownish ochreous; median fascia amber brown, broad at costa; some brown striae present at costa near termen. Apical spot less conspicuous than in Retinia monopunctata. Cilia shining fuscous, slightly darker (more leaden hued) toward base. Hindwing shining satiny brown, apex slightly paler; cilia slightly paler, with dark basal band and with the extreme tips of the outermost scales white (Nasu, 1991; Walsingham, 1900).
male genitalia R. cristata
Genitalia: Uncus reduced; gnathos absent; socii long, curved inwardly. Ventral margin of valva notched; cucullus not broadening apically; length of cucullus 1.5 times greater than width; clasper small. Aedeagus armed with approximately 17 cornuti.
Female:
External characters: Similar to male.
female gen. R. cristata
Genitalia: Papillae analis flat; apophyses posteriores shorter than apophyses anteriores; seventh sternite broadly sclerotized, sterigma not fused with the latter, ring-like, surrounding ostium bursae, lamella postvaginalis enlarged. Ductus bursae with well-developed cingulum; corpus bursae with two small signa, different in size.
Biology:
damaged cone - R. cristata
Larvae feed on shoots and cones of Pinus spp.
On Honshu, moths were collected between mid May and mid September; on Shikoku in July (and also moths emerging early August); on Kyushu in September and October.
Host plants:
Pinus thurnbergii, Pinus densiflora, Pinus massoniana.
Damage:
Larvae feed on shoots and cones of Pinus spp., and can cause severe damage to young planted trees.
Distribution:
Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Ryukyu), Korea, Northern and Central China, Thailand.
Pheromone:
Pheromone unknown.
Parasitoids:
Lissonota evetriae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae)
(Kanamitsu, 1963).
In Japan, 4 species of Retinia occur. Besides Retinia cristata (Walsingham) and Retinia monopunctata (Oku), there are Retinia coeruleostriana (Caradja) and Retinia jezoensis Nasu.
1. Retinia coeruleostriana (Caradja)
In this species, the head is grey, the forewing ground colour is bluish plumbeous and the fasciate markings are orange brown, tinged with dark grey terminally; the cucullus in the male genitalia is large and round [male gen. R. coelureostriana ].
Distribution: Japan (Northern and Central Honshu), Northern China, Russia (Primorskii Krai).
Food plant: Shoot of Pinus densiflora.
2. Retinia jezoensis
Head yellowish brown; forewing markings blackish brown, ocellus obscure (conspicuous in cristata). Posterior angle of sacculus obtuse (90 degrees in cristata) [male genitalia R. jezoensis ].
Distribution: Japan (Hokkaido).
Food plant: unknown