Epiphyas postvittana

Epiphyas postvittana (Walker, 1863)
Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM)
(formerly known as Teras postvittana)
ARCHIPINI, TORTRICINAE, TORTRICIDAE, TORTRICOIDEA

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

Epiphyas postvittana
(Photo: Don Herbison-Evans, Sydney, New South Wales)

This Caterpillar is pale green, with thin yellow bands between segments, and a pale brown head. It is a pest in monoculture situations, particularly attacking

Cultivated Grapes ( Vitis vinifera, VITACEAE ).

One of the worst aspects of an infestation by this caterpillar is that other diseases such as the Mould Botrytis cinerea are transmitted by the caterpillars to the crop.

The caterpillar also attacks a wide variety of other agricultural plants and fruits, including:

Christmas Bells ( Blandfordia grandiflora, ASPHODELACEAE ),

Cabbage ( Brassica oleracea, BRASSICACEAE ),

Alfalfa ( Lucerne: Medicago sativa, FABACEAE ),

Sage ( Salvia officinalis, LAMIACEAE ),

Pine Trees ( Pinus species, PINACEAE ),

Apple ( Malus pumila, ROSACEAE ),

Citrus trees of various types: e.g. Lemon, Orange, ( RUTACEAE ), and

Pimiento ( Capsicum annuum, SOLANACEAE ),

as well as various Australian native plants including:

Mat-Rush ( Lomandra species, ASPARAGACEAE ),

Wattles ( Acacia species, MIMOSACEAE ),

Gum Trees ( Eucalyptus species, MYRTACEAE ),

Blackthorn ( Bursaria species, PITTOSPORACEAE ),

Spider Flowers ( Grevillea species, PROTEACEAE ), and

Boronias ( Boronia species, RUTACEAE ).

It lives in a shelter created by joining together with silk the young leaves of a growing shoot of its foodplant. If disturbed, the caterpillar wriggles backwards violently, and drops on a silk thread. The caterpillar grows to a length of about 2 cms.

(Photo: courtesy of Hortnet, New Zealand)

The caterpillar pupates in a cocoon between leaves joined with silk. Pupal duration can be as short as one week.

male
(Photo: courtesy of Donald Hobern, Aranda, Australian Capital Territory)

The adult moths have orange brown forewings with variable darker markings in the outer area. The males have a larger dark area than the females, and are also somewhat smaller. The hindwings are light brown.

female
(Photo: courtesy of Donald Hobern, Aranda, Australian Capital Territory)

The forewings each have a convex costa. The moths rest with the forewings covering the hindwings, so that their forewings make a shape like the outline of a bell. The moths have a wingspan of about 2 cms.

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

The males find the females by smell, as the females emit pheromones which for this species have been identified.

(Specimen: courtesy of Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

The eggs are pale green and flat, and laid so that they overlap each other to form a smooth surface. This makes for a good camouflage. Each egg has a diameter of about 1 mm. The eggs are usually laid in groups of several dozen on the upper surface of host plant leaves.