Hedya separatana (Kearfott) (Tortricidae: Olethreutinae: Olethreutini)
Common name: pink-washed leafroller moth
FWL: 5.5–7.5 mm
Head black; thorax predominantly black with intermixed white and pink scales; thoracic tuft present, dark; forewing with basal two-thirds with ground color dark brown or black, fasciae irregular, thin, white or whitish-pink, but heavily suffused with chalky blue gray scales; distal third of forewing white or whitish-pink with distinct black dot at distal end of discal cell; male without forewing costal fold; hindwing dark gray.
Male genitalia are characterized by a well-developed, finger-like uncus; moderate socii; valvae slender, curved, with robust rows of spine-like setae at base of dorsal edge of valva, distal end of sacculus, and proximal edge of cucullus. Female genitalia are characterized by a strongly raised groove-like medial portion of the lamella antevaginalis; and two scobinate signa in the corpus bursae.
No published descriptions exist for the larvae of Hedya separatana, but they likely are similar to other species of Hedya, such as H. chionosema and H. nubiferana.
Hedya separatana is very similar to H. ochroleucana and H. nubiferana but can be differentiated from these two species by its smaller size and often (but not always) pink-washed distal third of the forewing. Genitalia are distinct as well: males possess a tuft of long, spine-like setae at the base of the cucullus, and females possess a pair of flat, scobinate signa in the corpus bursae.
Hedya separatana is widely distributed in Canada and the eastern United States. Records exist from Nova Scotia west to British Columbia and Yukon and south to Florida and Louisiana.
Little is known of the biology of Hedya separatana beyond the host plants listed below. The record from larkspur (Delphinium sp.) is dubious. Larvae are leaf rollers; adults are most commonly collected between May and September, suggesting at least two generations per year. Adults can be found as early as April and as late as October in the southernmost portions of their range.
View full screen host table here
Authors: KA Austin, TM Gilligan, ME Epstein
Content last updated May 2025
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