| Lucerne Leaf Roller (formerly known as Conchylis divulsana) ARCHIPINI, TORTRICINAE, TORTRICIDAE, TORTRICOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
(Photo: courtesy of
Agriculture Western Australia)
|
| Lucerne Leaf Roller (formerly known as Conchylis divulsana) ARCHIPINI, TORTRICINAE, TORTRICIDAE, TORTRICOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
(Photo: courtesy of
Agriculture Western Australia)
The Caterpillars of this species are an agricultural pest in Australia, feeding on various crops and herbaceous garden plants, including :
The caterpillars grow to a length of about 1 cm.
The adult moths have light brown forewings, each with a variable dark markings, sometimes with a complex diagonal band across each wing, and a darkish triangle on the hind-margin by the tornus, and sometimes with no markings at all. The hindwings are pale grey. The moths have a wingspan of about 1.5 cms.
The species is found over the whole of Australia including
The moths have also been found in
The pheromones of this species have been determined, indicating that the name Merophyas divulsana may be being used to refer to two different species. Synthetic pheromones have been used to trap the moths.
Further reading :
Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, pp. 59, 68, 278.
Francis Walker,
Tortricites & Tineites,
List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
Part 28 (1863), p. 364, No. 117.
 caterpillar |  butterflies |  Lepidoptera |  moths |  caterpillar |
(updated 4 September 2011, 10 August 2018, 6 September 2019, 8 February 2021, 23 May 2022)