Bonagota salubricola

Status

EXOTIC

PORT INTERCEPT

Taxonomy

Bonagota salubricola (Meyrick) (Tortricidae: Tortricinae: Cochylini)

Common name: Brazilian apple leafroller

Synonyms: cranaodes (Phtheochroa)

Adult Recognition

FWL: 6.0–9.0 mm

Moderately sexually dimorphic. Labial palpi short; forewings primarily gray-brown with paler fasciae present at midpoint of costa and along termen; hindwings pale gray. 

Male genitalia are characterized by a long, thing uncus; well-developed, elongate, setose socii; long, semicircular valvae; and a very short uncus. Female genitalia are characterized by long apophyses, a short ductus bursae, and a large corpus bursae without a signum.

Larval Morphology

The following account is summarized from Bentancourt et al. (2004)Bentancourt et al. (2004):
Bentancourt, C. M., Scatoni, I. B., Gonzalez, A., Franco, J. 2004. Biology of Bonagota cranaodes (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) on seven natural foods. Neotropical Entomology. 33: 299-306..

Mature larva 12–14 mm in length; body greenish with two whitish dorsolateral bands. It may be confused with larvae of another pest species, Argyrotaenia sphaleropa, with which it co-occurs in orchards and vineyards in South America.

Similar Species

Adults can be easily confused with several other genera of tortricids, such as Ptychocroca and Apotomops but can be readily distinguished by examination of the genitalia. Bonagota can be distinguished by the extremely elongate socii, the extremely broad valva, and the extreme sexual dimorphism in forewing pattern and size.

Distribution

Bonagota salubricola occurs in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay (Brown and Razowski 2003Brown and Razowski 2003:
Brown, J. W., Razowski, J. 2003. Description of Ptychocroca , a new genus from Chile and Argentina, with comments on the Bonagota Razowski group of genera (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae: Euliini). Zootaxa. 303. 1-31.).

Biology

Bonagota salubricola has expanded its host range in the past 50 years to become a significant pest of apple (Malus spp.), pear (Pyrus spp.), plum (Prunus spp.), and grapes (Vitis spp.) in South America (Bentancourt et al. 2004Bentancourt et al. 2004:
Bentancourt, C. M., Scatoni, I. B., Gonzalez, A., Franco, J. 2004. Biology of Bonagota cranaodes (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) on seven natural foods. Neotropical Entomology. 33: 299-306.), although it also feeds on many common ornamental and weedy species.

Larvae cause damage by primarily feeding on the peel and pulp of the fruits of the hosts but also may feed on vegetative tissue. Feeding damage can be exacerbated by allowing the entry of bunch rot organisms into the feeding site. Losses in apple harvests can amount to up to 5% in Brazil (Bentancourt et al. 2004Bentancourt et al. 2004:
Bentancourt, C. M., Scatoni, I. B., Gonzalez, A., Franco, J. 2004. Biology of Bonagota cranaodes (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) on seven natural foods. Neotropical Entomology. 33: 299-306.). Honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.) appears to be a habitual winter host, when apples and grapes are not available (Bentancourt et al. 2004Bentancourt et al. 2004:
Bentancourt, C. M., Scatoni, I. B., Gonzalez, A., Franco, J. 2004. Biology of Bonagota cranaodes (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) on seven natural foods. Neotropical Entomology. 33: 299-306.).

Plant Associations

View full screen host table here