Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Tortricidae Members:	Archips Members:	14 NC Records

Archips georgiana (Walker, 1863) - Georgia Archips

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Tortricoidea

Family:
Tortricidae

Subfamily:
Tortricinae

Tribe:
Archipini

P3 Number:
51a0331

MONA Number:
3656.00

Other Common Name:
Georgia Leafroller

Comments: Archips is a large genus with species occurring worldwide. Most are found in Holarctic and temperate regions and they are well-represented in the Old World. North America has 26 species, including a few that are introduced.

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions:

Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD

Technical Description, Adults: Freeman (1958)

Adult Markings: In this species the head and palps are orangish-yellow to brownish-orange and the antennae orangish-brown. The forewing ground color varies is orangish-yellow to orangish-white and is overlain with a series of darker striae and patches. Most specimens have three more or less parallel rusty-brown striae on the basal third that extend from just below the inner margin to near the middle of the wing. The middle of the wing has a dogleg-shaped band (sometimes interrupted) that slants posteriorly from the middle of the costa then angles to become roughly perpendicular with the inner margin. It typically terminals well before reaching the inner margin. Three or four additional dark striae are usually present between the dogleg-shaped band and the wing tip. In addition to the dark striae, specimens typically have several lighter colored patches throughout that vary from salmon-colored to reddish-brown. These tend to be concentrated in the interfascial regions. The fringe varies from orangish-yellow to orangish-brown, and the hindwing varies from brown to orange-fuscous with a contrastingly lighter fringe.

Wingspan: 16-22 mm (MPG)

Adult Structural Features: Freeman (1958) has illustrations and descriptions of the male and female genitalia. Also, see genitalia below.

Structural photos

Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.

Immatures and Development: Darlington (1948) reported that the larva in New Jersey bind the terminal leaves of Sweetfern together and feed on the leaves. All of the larvae pupated in the bound leaves before June 20 and the adults emerged before June 24. The larvae have also been found in rolled
leaves of oaks and blueberries in New Jersey (Darlington, 1948).

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution: Archips georgiana is mostly restricted to the southeastern US, with a few scattered records as far north as Michigan, New Jersey, and New York. The main range extends from central Texas eastward through the Gulf Coast region to southern Florida, and northward to North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas and Missouri. As of 2023 our limited records are from all three physiographic regions of the state.

County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.


Flight Dates: High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft. Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft. Piedmont (Pd) Coastal Plain (CP) Click on graph to enlarge
Flight Comments: The adults have seen observed from March through July in different areas of the range, with a seasonal peak in April through June. As of 2023 our records are all from late April and May, except for a specimen that Wray (1967) reported from Transylvania Co. that was collected in August.

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: The preferred habitats are poorly documented, but specimens have often been taken in dry habitats.

Larval Host Plants: The host are rather poorly documented, but include hickory (Carya), Turkey Oak (Quercus laevis) and possibly other oaks, blueberries (Vaccinium), and Sweet-fern (Comptonia peregrina) (Darlington, 1948; Freeman, 1958; MacKay, 1962; Heppner, 2007). Darlington (1948) characterized the larvae as being general feeders since he was able to rear them successfully on unrelated plants such as Comptonia, Vaccinium, Quercus, Lespedeza, and Sassafras. He only observed them feeding in the field on Comptonia. We do not have any feeding records in North Carolina. - View

Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights and the larvae can be found in the webbed terminal leaves of the host plants.

Wikipedia

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR [S2-S3]

State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.

Comments: This species appears to be rare in North Carolina, with only three site records as of 2023.

Photo Gallery for Archips georgiana - Georgia Archips

Photos: 14

	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2025-05-24 Richmond Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2025-05-24 Richmond Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Jim Petranka on 2025-05-24 Richmond Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2025-05-23 Richmond Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2025-05-23 Richmond Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2025-05-23 Richmond Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George on 2025-05-09 Cumberland Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George on 2025-05-09 Cumberland Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Brian Bockhahn on 2025-05-09 Cumberland Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper on 2023-05-21 New Hanover Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Shields on 2021-05-14 Onslow Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Shields on 2020-05-23 Onslow Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Shields on 2020-05-10 Onslow Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Harry Wilson on 2020-04-26 Wake Co. Comment: