Lampronia corticella

L. corticella (L.)

= L. rubiella (Bjerkander)

Raspberry bud moth

Adult Characteristics

Depicted in Heath & Pelham-Clinton (1976). Wingspan 9-12 mm. Head light ochreous. Forewing groundcolor fuscous, with slight purplish tinge; 4-5 creamy spots on costa and 2 on hind margin, with many small spots on veins in distal two thirds of the wing. Hindwings gray.

Comparison with similar species

There should be no confusion with any described species.

Host, oviposition, and larval feeding habits

Described in detail by Hill (1952) and Hellqvist (1990); ovipositing female and late-instar larva depicted in the latter. Egg is laid in the wedge between the stamens and petals in flowers of Rubus idaea (raspberry), R. arcticus, R. saxatilis and probably other species of Rubus. Larvae feed inside the fruit (seeds and/or receptacle) for two instars, then overwinter in a round, dark cocoon in shallow soil near the plant root. Larvae enter young buds and adjacent pith in the spring. Larvae pupate on a leaf surface or inside the gallery. The adult emerges in early summer.

Female ovipositing into Rubus arcticus flower between stamens and petal, and damaged shoot with emerging, red late-instar larva (arrow). Both pictures courtesy of Sven Hellqvist.

Geographic distribution

Widely distributed from the British Isles, through continental Europe and Fennoscandia, east across Russia to Sakhalin, and south to Altai. The species has been introduced in North America, and was first found in New Brunswick, Canada, in 1936.

Habitat

In habitats with Rubus species, including orchards where spring feeding can have a significant impact on fruit production.

References

Heath, J. & E.C. Pelham-Clinton. 1976. The moths and butterflies
          of Great Britain and Ireland, vol I: Incurvariidae.  
          Blackwell Scientific Press and Curwen Press. 
Hellqvist, S. 1990. Hallonmal, Lampronia rubiella (Bjerk.), som skadedjur på 
          allåkerbär.  Växtskyddsnotiser 54:107-112.
Hill, A.R. 1952. The bionomic of Lampronia rubiella (Bjerk.), the 
          raspberry moth, in Scotland. J. Horticult. Sci. 27:1-13.

Holotype in ?.

About this page

Olle Pellmyr
E-mail: pellmyr@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu.
Dept of Biology, Vanderbilt University, Box 1812-B Nashville, TN 37235, USA

Title illustration: To be obtained