20mm | April 5, 2012 | Twelvestones, Roswell, GA, USA
Earlier this month I was checking for anything interesting in my backyard when I came across this caterpillar in a rolled up leaf on viburnum. I decided to try and rear it to get an identification.
It turns out it was a final instar because it pupated beneath its leaf within a week, sometime around the 9th.
Pupa within leaf shelter
I removed the pupa from its webbing for some cleaner shots.
11mm | Underside of pupa
Dorsolateral view
I checked daily for the adult, but sadly it eclosed while I was away on vacation, sometime around the 20th give or take a few days. When I got back I found a dead and beat up adult. I prefer live images of a fresh adult that I can release later, but I’ll take what I can get here I guess.
10mm | Adult
Based on similar looking moths, I decided it must be a Tortricid moth in the genus Archips. Looking through all the species images on BugGuide, I decided it most resembled Archips grisea.
It has what appears to be a costal fold on the forewing, indicating it’s probably a male.
Note enlarged area near base of forewing
This page has a description of the larva which is consistent with the caterpillar I found. One distinguishing feature is a completely black head and prothoracic shield.
Uniformly black head and prothoracic shield
The page also says the first pair of legs are black while the other two pair are pale green and unmarked. Check.
Leg colors consistent with larval description
Everything suggests this is Archips grisea except the host plant. Either this is something else, or viburnum hasn’t been recorded for this species.
I’m asking for some expert help here. If it checks out I’ll update BugGuide as there are currently no larval images for this species (or anywhere on the internet that I can find) and no record for Georgia.
