Clepsis Guenée (Tortricidae: Tortricinae: Archipini)
The genus Clepsis contains approximately 175 described species that are distributed throughout the Holarctic, Oriental, and Neotropical regions. The genus, as currently circumscribed, is polyphyletic.
Forewing patterns vary within the genus, but many species are brown and marked with a well-defined median fascia and dark costal spot. Male genitalia are characterized by a spatulate uncus, an incomplete transtilla divided into two spined lobes (labides), and valvae that may be membranous at the apex or have a membranous apical lobe. Female genitalia are characterized by a cestum in the ductus bursae, and a signum in the corpus bursae may be present or absent.
Species of economic importance include the Palearctic C. spectrana. In Europe, larvae of this species cause considerable damage to flowering and ornamental plants in greenhouses. The other seven species treated here are common native or exotic, but established species likely to encountered during domestic tortricid surveys. Clepsis peritana is one of the most commonly collected tortricids in the United States; it is similar to a number of other Clepsis species, but most can be separated by a combination of male and female morphological characters.
For photos of additional non-targets not covered here, visit the Moth Photographers Group link below.
It is difficult to distinguish between different species of Clepsis using larval morphology. As such, most Clepsis larvae intercepted at United States ports of entry are not identified beyond the subfamily or genus level. One exception is larvae of C. spectrana, which are commonly intercepted at United States ports of entry on peppers (Capsicum spp.) and cut flowers arriving from the Netherlands.
Adventive species
Native species
Authors: KA Austin, TM Gilligan, ME Epstein
Content last updated May 2025
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