Strepsicrates smithiana

Status

NATIVE

PORT INTERCEPT | DOMESTIC SURVEY

Taxonomy

Strepsicrates smithiana Walsingham (Tortricidae: Olethreutinae: Eucosmini)

Common name: bayberry leaftier moth

Synonyms: imminens (Spilonota), indentanus (Phthinolophus)

Adult Recognition

FWL: 4.5–6.0 mm

Head, thorax various shades of gray; male with distinct antennal notch near base; forewing with ground color brown to dark brown; longitudinal black streak present from end of discal cell to apex; sinuous, ashy gray band present along entire inner margin, widening gradually towards tornus, bordering brown ocellus; male forewing with costal fold; hindwing brown.

Male genitalia are characterized by an obsolete uncus; small socii; valvae moderate, without constriction of the neck and with two thorn-like extensions on the ventrodistal margin. Female genitalia characterized by a broad, cylindrical sterigma and corpus bursae finely scobinate, without signum.

Larval Morphology

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 Canacuán-Nasamuez and Carabalí-Muñoz (2015)Canacuán-Nasamuez and Carabalí-Muñoz (2015):
Canacuán-Nasamuez, D. E., Carabalí-Muñoz, A. 2015. [Strepsicrates smithiana (Walsingham, 1891), Psidium guajava Leaf-roller: Identification, Damage and Life Cycle]. Ciencia y Tecnología Agropecuaria. 16(2): 279-292 [In Spanish]..

Mature larva 11–14 mm in length; width of head 0.9–1.0 mm; head pale yellowish, with darker pigmentation laterally; prothoracic shield, legs pale; anal shield pale, but occasionally with brown pigmentation on lateral margins; body pale, faintly striped; anal fork present, well-developed; SV group on A1, 2, 7, 8, 9 always 3:3:2:2:2.

Detailed figures of larval chaetotaxy are available in MacKay (1959)MacKay (1959):
MacKay, M. R. 1959. Larvae of the North American Olethreutidae (Lepidoptera). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 10: 1-338..

Pupa 5.0–7.1 mm in length; caramel brown initially before turning darker brown with age.

Similar Species

The forewing pattern and notched male antenna should serve to separate Strepsicrates smithiana from most species of Eucosmini except S. transfixa (Australia) and S. tetropsis (South America). The latter may prove to be a synonym of S. smithiana. Other members of the Spilonota-group of genera can appear superficially similar, but genitalia should readily separate them (Horak 2006Horak 2006:
Horak, M. 2006. Olethreutine moths of Australia (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, Vol. 10. 522 pp.). 

Distribution

Strepsicrates smithiana is distributed in the southeastern United States from Texas to Tennessee and Georgia and north along the Atlantic coast as far north as Maine. It is widespread in the Caribbean, with records from Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and St. Vincent. It is also known from Bermuda, the Galápagos Islands, Colombia, and Chile, where it is unclear whether or not it is native. It has been introduced to the Hawaiian Islands as a biological control agent of Myrica spp.

Biology

The following account is summarized from Canacuán-Nasamuez and Carabalí-Muñoz (2015)Canacuán-Nasamuez and Carabalí-Muñoz (2015):
Canacuán-Nasamuez, D. E., Carabalí-Muñoz, A. 2015. [Strepsicrates smithiana (Walsingham, 1891), Psidium guajava Leaf-roller: Identification, Damage and Life Cycle]. Ciencia y Tecnología Agropecuaria. 16(2): 279-292 [In Spanish]..

Under laboratory conditions, females lay flattened, translucent eggs singly on the underside of leaves and shoots of the host plant. Larvae hatch between four and six days later. First and second instar larvae feed primarily by skeletonizing small patches of the leaf. Third, fourth, and fifth instars feed between tied leaves. Complete development from first instar to pupa takes approximately 20–26 days. Pupation occurs between tied leaves or in a folded margin of a single leaf. Adults eclose 8–12 days later. In tropical and subtropical areas, adults can be found year-round, but the flight season is restricted from May to August further north.

Strepsicrates smithiana feeds on plants in the families Myricaceae and Myrtaceae. It is best known as a pest of guava (Psidium guajava).

Plant Associations

View full screen host table here

Links

Additional photos and a distribution map of this species in North America are available at Moth Photographers Group.