Amorbia concavana (Zeller, 1877)

Hayden, James E., 2012, First U. S. records of Amorbia concavana (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), Insecta Mundi 2012 (271), pp. 1-4 : 1-4

Amorbia concavana (Zeller, 1877)

( Fig. 1–7)

Material examined. USA, Florida: 5 MM: “ FLORIDA: Dade Co. Miami-Cutler 10 Apr 2006 E. M. Varona 06-1864 Spodoptera litura pheromone trap in Trema micranthum tree” ( NMNH, FSCA) ; 3 MM: “ FLORIDA: Dade Co. Homestead ( CAPS survey) 16 May 2008 M. Meadows Spodoptera litura lure trap ” ( NMNH, FSCA) ; 1M: “ FLORIDA: Dade Co. Homestead ( CAPS survey) 21 Nov 2007 07-8993 N. Rodriguez Spodoptera litura lure trap ” ; 1M: same except “ 3 Dec 2007 07-9010” ; 1M: same except “ 3 Dec 2007 07- 9020” ; 1M, 1F: “FL: Miami-Dade Co. Homestead Tres Amigos Nursery, Redland Dr. & SW 280th St. 21- X-2011 On Mikania micrantha leaves. R. Diaz. E2011-8947”, male except “JEH slide 1475” ( NMNH) ; 1M: “ FLORIDA: Dade Co. Homestead ( CAPS survey) 29 Oct 2007 07-8111 C. Carter Spodoptera litura lure trap ” ; 1M: same except “ 28 Oct 2007 07-8973” “FLMNH-MGCL Slide 00479” ; 1M: “ FLORIDA: Dade Co. Homestead ( CAPS survey) 26 Nov 2007 07-8988 M. Meadows Spodoptera litura lure trap ” ; 2 MM: same except “07-8994” and “07-9004”, “FLMNH-MGCL Slide 00480”; 2 MM: same except “ 27 Nov 2007 07- 8995” and “ 27 Nov 2007 07-8999” ; 4 MM: “ FLORIDA: Dade Co. Homestead ( CAPS survey) 20 Nov 2007 07-9000 N. Rodriguez Spodoptera litura lure trap ” ; 9 MM: same except “07-9001”, “ 29 Nov 2007 07- 9006”, “ 3 Dec 2007 07-9009”, “ 3 Dec 2007 07-9011”, “ 3 Dec 2007 07-9012”, “ 27 Nov 2007 07-9005 Begley”, or “ 3 Dec 2007 07-9016 D. Begley ” ; 2FF: “FL: Miami-Dade Co. Homestead. Tree Amigos Nursery, Redland Dr. & SW 280th St. 21-X-2011 On Mikania micrantha leaves. R. Diaz. E2011-8947”, [one] “FLMNH-MGCL Slide 00354” ; 1F: “FL: Miami-Dade Co. Homestead, 27620 SW 187 Ave, Tree Amigos Nursery. 11-I-2012 on Mikania micrantha (#115). R. Diaz & J. McClury. E2012-876” ; 1F: “ FLORIDA, Dade County Homestead ex Rosa Ref # 10-08 15-IV-2008 R. Duncan” ; 1M: “ FLORIDA: Dade Co. Homestead ( CAPS survey) 28 Nov 2007 07-9019 D. Bagley Spodoptera litura lure trap ” ; 1M: “ FLORIDA: Dade Co. Homestead. TREC 18 Apr 2008 08-2256 M. Meadows ” ; 1M: “FL: Broward Co. Dania Beach, John Lloyd SP, 6503 N Ocean Dr. UV. 21-VI-2012 CAPS IMS M. DaCosta, J. Garcia E12-5008” ( FSCA) .

Diagnosis. Males of A. concavana can be distinguished from Nearctic congeners by the presence of a costal fold ( Fig. 3) and cornuti that are perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the phallus ( Fig. 6). The females key out to Amorbia Clemens in Powell and Brown (2012: 27), but most males run to Coelostathma Clemens because of their small size. They differ from Coelostathma in lacking ocelli, having a costal fold, and having the sacculus with small ven-

tral projections rather than elongate subbasal or distal processes. Among Amorbia species , both sexes key out to A. emigratella Busck or A. vero

Powell and J. Brown ( Powell and Brown 2012: 29).

Those species differ in lacking a distinct saccular process, and A. vero has less strongly colored scales on the apex of the hind wing and a slightly narrower signum than other congeners. Besides

A. concavana , only A. vero and A. humerosana

Clemens are currently recorded in Florida ( Powell and Brown 2012); the latter species is easily distinguished by its gray color and large size (forewing length 10–16 mm).

Descriptive notes. Males have beige forewings with scattered black and silver scales ( Fig. 1–2). The hind wings are pale yellow-beige without a transparent area, and the apex is distinctly dark orange with black scales. Females are similar but have darker, rather orange forewings with less black scaling ( Fig. 4–5). The quantity of black scales on the male forewing is variable among Florida specimens, but they are otherwise quite homogeneous. The male forewing length is 6.0– 8.0 mm (mean = 7.1 mm, n = 27), and the female Figures 6–7. Amorbia concavana specimens from Florida. forewing length is 10.0–12.0 mm (mean = 11.0 6) Male genitalia (same data, JEH slide 1475, NMNH). 7) mm, n = 4). The venation is as in other Amorbia Female genitalia (same data, JEH slide 1473, FSCA). species, with sexually dimorphic forewing radial veins. The male genitalia ( Fig. 6; n = 3) have one short saccular spine that is consistent in length among examined material. The corpus bursae has a broad, band-shaped signum typical of Amorbia ( Fig. 7).

Remarks. The male genitalia differ somewhat from those of Central American populations, represented by a Honduran specimen in Fig. 84 of Phillips-Rodríguez and Powell (2007). Those have a distinctly emarginate sacculus and a longer saccular process, whereas Floridian specimens have a nearly straight sacculus and short spine. However, they are more similar to the illustration of A. phaseolana Busck in Busck ([1934]: pl. 30 fig. 4), a Cuban species synonymized with A. concavana by Phillips-Rodríguez and Powell (2007). Lambert (1950) also illustrated a short saccular spine in A. concavana , but he did not state the dissection’s provenance. The Cuban population may prove to be a distinct species from the Central American one, with the Floridian population conspecific with the former, but a decision on the status of A. phaseolana will depend on examination or sequencing of Cuban specimens.

The female was not available to Phillips-Rodríguez and Powell (2007), but Busck ([1934]: pl. 36 fig. 8) illustrated the female of A. phaseolana and noted that it was much larger than the male. Photographs of both sexes and larvae are available online in Janzen and Hallwachs (2012).

Phillips-Rodríguez and Powell (2007) suggested that Amorbia effoetana (Möschler) , described from one female specimen from Puerto Rico, could be conspecific. The type specimen was not examined by Lambert (1950) nor by Phillips-Rodríguez and Powell (2007), and it is still absent from the Museum für Naturkunde (W. Mey, pers. comm. 2012). Although nomenclaturally unavailable, Lambert (1950) synonymized A. phaseolana with A. effoetana and illustrated male genitalia very similar to Fig. 6; it is unknown whether his figure represents Cuban or Puerto Rican populations. Möschler described the species as having “graubraun” (brownish gray) hind wings, so it may well be specifically distinct.

Hosts. Amorbia concavana is polyphagous (Busck [1934]; Phillips-Rodríguez and Powell, 2007; Janzen and Hallwachs 2012) with some preference for Fabaceae . The records on Rosa L. sp. ( Rosaceae ) and Mikania micrantha Kunth (Asteraceae) are novel. The latter is a fast-growing weed that is invasive in Florida ( Anderson et al. 2012).

Distribution. Amorbia concavana is distributed from northern Mexico (Tamaulipas) to Panama and also in Cuba ( Phillips-Rodríguez and Powell 2007). Most of the Florida records are from Miami-Dade County around Homestead and Miami, but one specimen is known from Dania Beach, Broward County. Photograph vouchers posted on the Moth Photographers’ Group ( Patterson 2012) include specimens from near Florida City, February 2004 (J. Vargo); Davie, May 2006 (P. Ayick); and Anhinga Trail, in Everglades National Park near the main entrance, February 2012 (C. Wolf).