''Pandemis heparana'', the dark fruit-tree tortrix or apple brown tortrix, is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family Tortricidae.

Distribution

This species can be found in most of Europe, in the eastern

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

, in the

Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

, and in North America.

Description

''Pandemis heparana'' has a

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

of 16–24 mm.UK Moths
/ref> In these moths the basic color of the forewings ranges from yellowish brown to reddish brown, with a reticulate pattern, a dark brown basal fascia, dark brown transversal bands, two triangular spots and brown fringes at the edge. The hindwings are gray-brown with white-yellow fringes. The larva can reach 22 mm and it is pale green.
/ref>David V Alfor
Pests of Fruit Crops: A Colour Handbook
/ref> This species is rather similar to ''

Pandemis cerasana ''Pandemis cerasana'', the barred fruit-tree tortrix, is a moth of the family Tortricidae. Distribution This quite common species is found in Europe, from the Iberian Peninsula to the Ural Mountains and the Caucasus, east to southern Siberia, K ...

''.

Biology

These moths have two generations per year ( bivoltine). The moth flies from late May to mid-September in western Europe. The larvae are considered a pest of trees and shrubs. They live in a rolled leaf and are polyphagous, feeding on various deciduous trees and shrubs including

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

honeysuckle Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae, native to northern latitudes in North America and Eurasia. Approximately 180 species of honeysuckle have been identified in both contin ...

sorbus ''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, rowan ( mountain-ash) and service tree. The exact number of species is disputed depend ...

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

and

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the p ...

. Pupation takes places in the rolled leaves.Lepidoptera of Belgium
/ref>

Gallery

File: Pandemis heparana larva.jpg, Larva File: Pandemis heparana.jpg , Moth File:Pandemis heparana-Oberösterreich, Mattsee, Lochen, Campingplatz Stein-E-MK-8642a.jpg, Mounted specimen

References

External links

* *
Waarneming.nl

Lepiforum.de
Pandemis Moths of Japan Tortricidae of Europe Moths described in 1775 {{Pandemis-stub