Ecdytolopha insiticiana Zeller (Tortricidae: Olethreutinae: Grapholitini)
Common names: locust twig borer
FWL: 9.5–13.5 mm (males); 9.0–13.5 mm (females)
Forewings are dark brown basally and light gray or white apically with a dark-brown mark on the dorsum near the tornus. Males lack a forewing costal fold. The hindwings are brown, lighter basally.
Male genitalia are characterized by the absence of an uncus, long valvae with an undifferentiated cucullus, and deciduous cornuti in the vesica. Female genitalia are characterized by a deep invagination of sternum VII where the ostium is located, two signa in the corpus bursae, and a sclerotized patch near the junction of the corpus bursae and ductus bursae.
The following account is summarized from MacKay (1959)MacKay (1959):
MacKay, M. R. 1959. Larvae of the North American Olethreutidae (Lepidoptera). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 10: 1-338. and Adamski and Brown (2001)Adamski and Brown (2001):
Adamski, D., Brown, J. W. 2001. Systematic revision of the Ecdytolopha group of genera (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae: Grapholitini) in the New World. Entomologica Scandinavica Supplement 58. 86 pp..
Late instar larvae are approximately 15–18 mm long with a pinkish-red abdomen and large, conspicuous pinacula. The head and prothoracic shield is yellowish or reddish brown and may have faint mottling. An anal comb is absent. Other larval characters include: prothoracic L-pinaculum subrectangular; D2s on A8 on same pinaculum; and SV setal counts on A1,2,7,8,9 as 3:3:3:2:2.
Ecdytolopha insiticiana appears similar to other members of the genus. Males can be separated from other Ecdytolopha species by a hair-pencil in a narrow concavity on the anal margin of the hindwing. Females can be separated by genitalic characters; see Adamski and Brown (2001)Adamski and Brown (2001):
Adamski, D., Brown, J. W. 2001. Systematic revision of the Ecdytolopha group of genera (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae: Grapholitini) in the New World. Entomologica Scandinavica Supplement 58. 86 pp. for keys to females.
Larvae are similar to other species in the Cryptophlebia-Ecdytolopha group, with an enlarged L-pinaculum on the prothorax that extends beneath (and usually beyond) the spiracle. Larvae of Gymnandrosoma can be separated from those of Ecdytolopha by the distance between the V setae on A9: approximately the same as the distance between Vs on A8 in Ecdytolopha and 1.2–2.0 times the distance between Vs on A8 in Gymnandrosoma.
Ecdytolopha insiticiana is widely distributed in the continental United States and southern Canada, although it is more common in eastern United States.
The following account is summarized from Adamski and Brown (2001)Adamski and Brown (2001):
Adamski, D., Brown, J. W. 2001. Systematic revision of the Ecdytolopha group of genera (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae: Grapholitini) in the New World. Entomologica Scandinavica Supplement 58. 86 pp. and references therein.
Ecdytolopha insiticiana completes a single annual generation in the North and two annual generations in the southern United States. Adults are present May-June, and again in July-September for the second generation.
Females lay eggs on new shoots of the host. Larvae bore into new growth and induce the formation of elongate galls. Larvae complete seven instars. Those of the last generation leave the gall and overwinter in flattened cocoons constructed in leaf litter. Pupation occurs in the spring.
The primary larval host is black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia). This species can be a pest in nurseries and plantations, causing disfiguration of trees.
View full screen host table here
Authors: KA Austin, TM Gilligan, ME Epstein
Content last updated May 2025
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