Olethreutes Hübner (Tortricidae: Olethreutinae: Olethreutini)
Olethreutes is a large, primarily Holarctic genus comprising approximately 130 described species; about 80 of these species occur in North America.
There are major discrepancies between European and North American concepts of Olethreutes and related genera dating to Heinrich (1926)Heinrich (1926):
Heinrich, C. 1926. Revision of the North American moths of the subfamilies Laspeyresiinae and Olethreutinae. Bulletin of the United States National Museum. 132: 1-216.. Heinrich synonymized several genera, including Argyroploce, Celypha, and Phiaris under Olethreutes, but considered Exartema distinct. European workers ignored these changes while North Americans adopted them.
To add to the confusion, Diakonoff (1973)Diakonoff (1973):
Diakonoff, A. 1973. The Southeast Asia Olethreutini (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae). Zoologische Monographieen van het Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie, No. 1, Leiden. E. J. Brill. 700 pp., in his treatment of the Asian fauna, adopted some, but not all, of Heinrich’s generic concepts. For example, he maintained Argyroploce as a synonym of Olethreutes, considered Phiaris a subgenus of Olethreutes, and treated Celypha as a distinct genus. Additionally, Diakonoff synonymized Exartema with Olethreutes.
As a result, there is no globally agreed upon classification scheme for Olethreutes and related genera. On this site, we follow previous North American workers in following a very broad concept of Olethreutes, recognizing that a more stable global taxonomic framework is needed.
Life history information is known for many species of Olethreutes and is often extremely useful in making species identifications, as wing pattern and genitalia tend to be highly homogenous. Larvae in all cases are leaf-tiers or leaf-rollers on a wide variety of deciduous trees and shrubs. Some species are specialists while others are highly polyphagous. Very few species are considered economically significant, but O. malana can be an occasional pest of apple (Malus spp.) (Chapman and Lienk 1971Chapman and Lienk 1971:
Chapman, P. J., Lienk, S. E. 1971. Tortricid fauna of apple in New York (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae); including an account of apple's occurrence in the state, especially as a naturalized plant. Spec. Publ. Geneva, NY: New York State Agricultural Experiment Station. 122 pp.).
Species identification for many species is notoriously difficult due to high numbers of interspecific similarities in both forewing pattern and genitalia. Males of many species have a lobed extension on the anal angle of the hindwing. The forewing fasciae of many species is complex and often confluent, making even wing pattern element terminology difficult. Males of most species possess a moderately-developed uncus with a broad base, a deeply invaginated ventral lobe of the valva with a finger-like extension referred to as the digitus. The location and number of spines along the valva can be taxonomically useful, but interspecific differences can be subtle. Female genitalia are characterized by variable-shaped indentations or lobes on the sterigma on either side of the ostium. The signum, when present, consists of a single scobinate patch.
We figure some of the most commonly-encountered species here, taking care to show examples of the high diversity of wing patterns present in the genus. Olethreutes is one of the most commonly-encountered and speciose genera of Tortricidae in North America, so it is likely that they will be encountered in routine monitoring surveys, regardless of their low pest status.
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Authors: KA Austin, TM Gilligan, ME Epstein
Content last updated May 2025
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