Clepsis peritana

Status

NATIVE

PORT INTERCEPT | DOMESTIC SURVEY

Taxonomy

Clepsis peritana (Clemens) (Tortricidae: Tortricinae: Archipini)

Common names: garden tortrix, strawberry garden tortrix

Synonyms: inconclusana (Dichelia), pinaria (Clepsis)

Adult Recognition

FWL: 4.5–7.5 mm

Forewing color is tan to brown. Males have a brown to dark-brown well-defined median fascia that is continuous from costa to dorsum and a dark brown costal spot. Females have similar markings, but the median fascia and costal spot are usually less distinct. Males lack a forewing costal fold.

Male genitalia are characterized by a well-developed, parallel-sided uncus; an incomplete, spined transtilla; a single short, thin cornutus in the aedeagus; and a membranous apex on the valva. Female genitalia are characterized by a ductus bursae that is spiraled or tightly coiled and the absence of a signum in the corpus bursae.

Larval Morphology

The following account is summarized from MacKay (1962a)MacKay (1962a):
MacKay, M. R. 1962a. Larvae of the North American Tortricinae (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 28: 1-182..

Mature larvae approximately 13–14 mm in length; width of head 0.9–1.1 mm; head, prothoracic shield yellowish brown; body, anal shield light green, but color can vary depending on the host plant; anal fork well-developed; SV group on A1, 2, 7, 8, 9 numbering 3:3:3:2:2.

Detailed figures of larval chaetotaxy are available in MacKay (1962a)MacKay (1962a):
MacKay, M. R. 1962a. Larvae of the North American Tortricinae (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 28: 1-182.. 

Similar Species

Clepsis fucana, C. penetralis, C. peritana, and C. virescana are all similar in appearance. Clepsis fucana is generally larger than the other three species and is found only on the West Coast. Clepsis penetralis has only been recorded from Colorado, Utah, and Vermont, although it may be misidentified in collections making its true distribution unknown. Clepsis peritana is the most commonly collected Clepsis, and it can be found throughout the United States and southern Canada. Clepsis virescana is generally larger than C. peritana, and males possess a forewing costal fold. The following table lists diagnostic features that can be used to separate these four Clepsis species.

Species	FWL	Male forewing costal fold	Male valva membranous lobe	Female ductus bursae	Female signum	Distribution
fucana	6.5–10.5 mm	absent	present as small lobe	straight	absent	West Coast
penetralis	6.0–7.5 mm	absent	present as moderate lobe	weakly twisted	absent	Unknown; recorded from Colorado, Utah, and Vermont
peritana	4.5–7.5 mm	absent	absent; entire apex is membranous	tightly coiled	absent	United States and southern Canada
virescana	6.0–9.0 mm	present	present as small lobe	straight	present	United States and southern Canada

Clepsis peritana may occasionally be found in pheromone traps for Crocidosema aporema and Stenoma catenifer, but the adults look distinctly different. 

Distribution

Clepsis peritana is widely distributed in southern Canada and the continental United States. It is one of the most common and widespread tortricid species in North America. It is also known from The Bahamas, Cuba, and possibly extends into Central America (Austin et al. 2019Austin et al. 2019:
Austin, K. A., Dombroskie, J. J., Matthews, D. L., Miller, J. Y. 2019. A review of the Archipini of The Bahamas with the description of a new species of Argyrotaenia Stephens (Tortricidae). Journal of the Lepidopteristsrsquo; Society. 73(1): 5-17.). It has been introduced into Europe, where it is reported to be established in Denmark, Spain, and Italy (Razowski 2002Razowski 2002:
Razowski, J. 2002. Tortricidae of Europe, Vol. 1, Tortricinae and Chlidanotinae. Frantisek Slamka, Slovakia. 247 pp.).

Biology

The following account is summarized from Powell (1964b)Powell (1964b):
Powell, J. A. 1964b. Biological and taxonomic studies on tortricine moths, with reference to the species in California. University of California Publications in Entomology. Vol. 32. 317 pp..

Clepsis peritana completes several generations per year. The exact number of generations varies from 2–4 in the North to 6–7 in the South, and in some locations adults are present most of the year.

Eggs are deposited in small masses of approximately 10–20 individual eggs. Larvae live in silk tubes built on the surface of leaves and feed on dead or decaying leaf litter. Larvae will occasionally feed in the buds or fruits of living plants. On strawberry (Fragaria sp.), larvae may cause damage to fruit in contact with the ground by webbing leaves to the fruit and chewing holes in the berries. In citrus (Citrus spp.) groves, larvae feed on decaying leaves until population levels are high, at which point they may switch to feeding on fruit. Significant damage to citrus is caused only when fruit is close to the ground or has dropped from the tree.

Clepsis peritana is known in the economic literature as a pest of strawberry and citrus. Larvae prefer to feed on dead or decaying leaves and have also been reared from fungus. As its wide distribution would suggest, this species is probably a generalist feeder on a large number of plants. The following is a list of confirmed hosts.

Plant Associations

View full screen host table here

Links

Additional photos and a distribution map of this species in North America are available at Moth Photographers Group.