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Digital Guide to Moth Identification

990223n – 19223   Crocidosema aporema (Walsingham, 1914)

© Christi Jaeger, MEM
Distribution: Central and South America; found in TX in the 1940s.
Seasonality
and Size:
Adults are present year round. C. aporema complete 4-6 generations each year, two of which occur on soybean. Forewing length ranges from 6.5-8.0mm.
Larva and
Host Plants:
Larvae feed primarily on Glycine max (soybean) and Phaseolus (cultivated beans), however they have been recorded on Cicer arietinum (chick pea), Lens culinaris (lentil), Madicago sativa (alfalfa), Melilotus (sweet clover), Gossypium hirsutum (upland cotton), and Zea mays (maize/corn).Larvae whitish with pale yellow pinacula. A black band extends from postgenal suture on the head
Description/
Field Marks:
Adult C. aporema are sexually dimorphic, with males possessing a forewing costal fold and black sex-scales at the base of the hindwing. Forewings of females are pale with a dark patch on the dorsum whereas the male forewing is brown to reddish brown and with a pale dorsum.
Similar Species:
  • C. aporema appears similar to C. plebejana, a cosmopolitan species. C. aporema can be distinguished by the lack of a distinctive white ocellus and white patch along the dorsum which are present in most C. plebejana. Genitalia can also be used to distinguish these species. Female C. aporema have a long, shallow pocket on each side of the lamella antevaginals on sternum VII; these are developed into lobes or “flaps” in C. plebejana. Male genitalia of C. aporema is enlarged and sub-triangular.
  • Pinned specimens of related species. (Hint: select View by Region on the related species page.)
Synonymy:
  • aporema (Walsingham, 1914) (Eucosma)
  • References
    • (1) Natural History Museum: HOSTS- website
    • (2) Gilligan, T.M., and Epstein, M.E. 2012. Tortricids of Agricultural Importance website
    • (3) Gilligan, T.M., and Passoa. 2014. LepIntercept- An identification resource for intercepted Lepidoptera larvae. USDA-APHIS-PPQ Identification Technology Program (ITP). Fort Collins, CO. website
    Crocidosema aporema
    © Christi Jaeger, MEM
    Crocidosema aporema
    © Christi Jaeger, MEM
    Crocidosema aporema
    © Christi Jaeger, MEM underside
    Crocidosema aporema
    15mm – © U. S. National Museum
    Crocidosema aporema
    - 11mm – © U. S. National Museum

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