Cydia saltitans

Status

EXOTIC

PORT INTERCEPT

Taxonomy

Cydia saltitans (Westwood) (Tortricidae: Olethreutinae: Grapholitini)

Common names: Mexican jumping bean moth, Mexican jumping bean, jumping bean

Synonyms: deshaisiana ([none]), saltatoria (Carpocapsa), sebastianiae (Grapholitha)

Note: Cydia saltitans has often been referred to as C. deshaisiana in the economic literature. However, Lucas (1858)Lucas (1858):
Lucas H. 1858. Sociétés Savantes. Académie des Sciences de Paris. Séance du 5 avril. Rev. Mag. Zool. Pure Appliquée. 10: 171–172. published the name deshaisiana without a valid description, and so Gilligan et al. (2020b)Gilligan et al. (2020b):
Gilligan T. M., Brown, J. W., Baixeras, J. 2020b. Immigrant Tortricidae: Holarctic versus Introduced Species in North America. Insects. 11(9): 1-59. treated it as a nomen nudum. 

A recent phylogeny suggests that C. saltitans may not belong to Cydia and may more correctly be placed in Ethelgoda, but the authors refrained from formally transferring it (Hu et al. 2023Hu et al. 2023:
Hu, G.-L., Brown, J.W., Heikkilä, M., Aarvik, L., Mutanen, M. 2023. Molecular phylogeny, divergence time, biogeography and trends in host plant usage in the agriculturally important tortricid tribe Grapholitini (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae: Olethreutinae). Cladistics. 39(5): 359-381.).

Adult Recognition

FWL: 8.0–11.0 mm

Forewings are gray to light gray with dark-brown to black markings. Many individuals have a row of black dots or dashes along the termen and a white dot below two dark markings on the apex. Hindwings are brown.

Male genitalia are characterized by the absence of an uncus; thin, curved valvae with a conspicuous neck and nearly circular cucullus; and a moderate, stout phallus with numerous cornuti. Female genitalia are characterized by a broad, well-sclerotized sterigma; partially sclerotized ductus bursae; and two large, tack-like signa in the corpus bursae with large bases.

Larval Morphology

The following account is summarized from San Martín-Romero et al. (2020)San Martín-Romero et al. (2020):
San Martín-Romero, E., Martinez-Rosas, R., Espinosa-Mendoza, M., Landa-Cadena, G., Morales-Báez, M., Salinas-Castro, A. 2020. Complejo de perforadores: Ecdytolopha fabivora (Meyrick), Cydia deshaisiana (Lucas) y Cydia pomonella (L.) en cultivo de frijol criollo (Phaseolus lunatus L.) y canavalia (Canavalia ensiformis L.) en Mexico. Revista de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina. 79(1): 13-20 [in Spanish]..

Mature larva approximately 18 mm in length; head yellow brown; rest of body, including legs, prothoracic shield, pinacula, and anal shield pale yellow to white, unmarked; anal fork absent; SV group on A1, 2, 7, 8, 9 numbering 3:3:3:2:1.

A more detailed account of larval morphology and chaetotaxy is available in San Martín-Romero et al. (2020).

Similar Species

Adults may appear similar to many other species of Cydia, especially C. fagiglandana. A genitalic dissection can be used to confirm identity.

Although similar to those of many other Cydia, larvae are unlikely to be encountered outside of a seed of Euphorbiaceae. Larval damage in Fabaceae is similar to that of Ecdytolopha fabivora, but larvae can be separated by differences in chaetotaxy as outlined on their separate fact sheets.

Distribution

Cydia saltitans is native to Mexico and is found in the northern states of Sinoloa and Sonora. The "Mexican jumping bean capitol of the world" is supposedly near the town of Alamos, Sonora. It is not known to occur naturally north of Mexico. 

"Mexican jumping beans" are frequently imported into the United States, occasionally in large numbers. Several websites are available that supply the "beans," complete with live larvae, on a commercial scale.

Biology

The following account is summarized from Powell and Opler (2009)Powell and Opler (2009):
Powell, J. A., Opler, P. A. 2009. Moths of western North America. University of California Press, Berkeley. 369 pp..

Larvae tunnel inside the seeds of the host plant and feed inside. The seeds eventually drop from the host plant during the summer rainy season. Larvae are able to move or "jump" the seeds or "beans" by rapid twitching; this behavior is triggered by temperature and may be a mechanism to move the seed to a more favorable location (such as out of direct sunlight). Larvae overwinter within the seed and pupation occurs the following spring. Adults emerge from the seed through a circular "door" that is cut by the larva prior to pupation.

Larvae of Cydia saltitans feed inside the seeds of various species of Euphorbiaceae and Fabaceae.

Plant Associations

View full screen host table here