Epiphyas xylodes

Epiphyas xylodes (Meyrick, 1910)
ARCHIPINI, TORTRICINAE, TORTRICIDAE, TORTRICOIDEA

Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Epiphyas xylodes
(Photo: courtesy of Elaine McDonald, Nicholls Rivulet, Tasmania)

These Caterpillars are a yellowish-green, with a dark dorsal line, sparse short white hairs, and a pale brown head. The caterpillars are roughly cylindrical, narrowing towards the head and the tail.

head close-up
(Photo: courtesy of Elaine McDonald, Nicholls Rivulet, Tasmania)

The caterpillars are an orchard pest, attacking the fruit of:

Cherries ( Prunus avium, ROSACEAE ),

but have been found attacking plants in many other families including

ASTERACEAE,

CUNONIACEAE,

EUPHORBIACEAE,

MALVACEAE,

MONIMIACEAE,

MYRTACEAE.

The caterpillars live in shelters composed of leaves joined with silk.

(Photo: courtesy of Donald Hobern, Blackheath, New South Wales)

The adult moth has pale brown wings, with the forewings having dark markings including a diagonal dark patch near the middle of the costa. The natural posture has a bell-shaped outline. The wingspan is about 2 cms.

The pheromones of this species have been investigated.

The species has been found in :

South Australia, and

(Photo: courtesy of CSIRO/BIO Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)