Platynota exasperatana (Zeller) (Tortricidae: Tortricinae: Sparganothini)
Common name: exasperating Platynota moth
Synonyms: scotiana (Sparganothis)
FWL: 5.5–7.0 mm (males); 6.0–8.0 mm (females)
Head gray-brown to white; males with a well-developed complex hood above the frons; thorax concolorous with head but with darker scales anteriorly; labial palpi long, gray-brown to white, shorter in male; forewing with transverse rows of raised scale tufts, ground color gray-brown to brown, grayish-white scaling variably developed as patches along costa and occupying distal third of forewing, but sometimes overlaid with darker gray or brown scaling; male with costal fold present; hindwing of both sexes light brown to light gray with faint strigulae, males with white portion basally.
Male genitalia are characterized by a slender uncus which is broader at the base; large, well-developed socii; and rounded, elliptical valvae with a sclerotized dorsal margin. Female genitalia are characterized by a bowl-like sterigma; and signum present as a small, seemingly wrinkled sclerite at base of corpus bursae.
The larva of Platynota exasperatana is unknown at present but is likely similar to other species of Platynota, such as P. idaeusalis, for which the larva is known and described (see MacKay 1962aMacKay 1962a:
MacKay, M. R. 1962a. Larvae of the North American Tortricinae (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 28: 1-182.).
Adults of Platynota exasperatana, especially males, are extremely similar to adults of P. idaeusalis and P. semiustana. Only P. idaeusalis is treated on this site. All three of these species are variable, both geographically and individually, in forewing pattern and male genitalia. Some specimens may not be able to be confidently assigned to species. Platynota exasperatana can usually be separated from these two species by the presence of pale whitish-yellow scaling on the dorsum of the second segment of the labial palpus and white or cream-colored scales at the base of the dorsal margin of the forewing.
Platynota exasperatana is broadly distributed in eastern North America, from Nova Scotia to Wisconsin and south to Florida and eastern Texas.
The early stages of Platynota exasperatana are unknown. Wagner et al. (1995)Wagner et al. (1995):
Wagner, D. L., Peacock, J. W., Carter, J. L., Talley, S. E. 1995. Spring caterpillar fauna of oak and blueberry in a Virginia deciduous forest. Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 88: 416-426. suggested larvae may feed on grasses and detritus, but this is unconfirmed. Adults primarily fly from April to July (probably representing a single generation); in Texas adults can be found as early as March. In the Great Smoky Mountains, there may be two generations, one with adults in late spring and early summer and another in late June and July (Powell and Brown 2012Powell and Brown 2012:
Powell, J. A., Brown, J. W. 2012. Tortricoidea, Tortricidae (part): Tortricinae (part): Sparganothini and Atteriini. In: Hodges, R. W. (ed.). The Moths of North America, fascicle 8.1. Wedge Entomological Research Foundation, Washington, D.C., 230 pp.).
Authors: KA Austin, TM Gilligan, ME Epstein
Content last updated May 2025
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