Moths of North Carolina

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Clepsis virescana (Clemens, 1865) - Greenish Apple Moth

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Tortricoidea

Family:
Tortricidae

Subfamily:
Tortricinae

Tribe:
Archipini

P3 Number:
51a0366

MONA Number:
3689.00

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions:

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

Technical Description, Adults: Forbes (1923); Freeman (1958)

Adult Markings: The following is mostly based on the description by Forbes (1923) and Freeman (1958). The head, palps, and thorax are tan to light olivaceous. The forewing ground color is concolorous with the head and thorax, and sometimes has a series of fine, brown, transverse striations. The ground is overlain with two brown to dark-brown marks. These include an often poorly-defined, posteriorly oblique, median band that extends from the costa to the inner margin, and a dark-brown pre-apical costal spot. The median band can be intact, but more often is well marked at the costa and either fades away towards the inner margin or is interrupted near the middle. The fringe is light brown to dull white, and the hindwing is light smoky brown or grayish brown with a slightly paler fringe.

This species resembles Clepsis peritana, but the males have a small, contrasting, brown costal fold (missing in C. peritana) and the dark marks are not margined with a whitish line. The median band of C. peritana is intact, while that of C. virescana is usually interrupted or faintly expressed away from the costa.

Wingspan: 13-17 mm (Forbes, 1923).

Forewing Length: 6.0-9.0 mm (Gilligan and Epstein, 2014; TortID).

Adult Structural Features: Freeman (1958) and Gilligan and Epstein (2014; TortID) have illustrations and descriptions of the male and female genitalia. The male genitalia are distinctive in having two long cornuti in the aedeagus and a small membranous lobe on the apex of the valva. Females are distinctive in having a long, thornlike signum in the corpus bursae.

Structural photos

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

Immatures and Development: The larval life history is poorly documented. Powell (1964) successfully reared the larvae on fresh and decaying leaves of cherries and roses and surmised that this species may have feeding habits similar to those of C. peritana.

Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable only through rearing to adulthood.

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution: Clepsis virescana is broadly distributed across much of the United States and southern Canada. Populations occur as far north as Alaska, and in southern Canada from British Columbia eastward to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. It occurs throughout much of the US from Maine southwestward through the Appalachian region and Piedmont to as far south as southern Mississippi, Louisiana, and central Texas, and westward to California, Oregon, Washington and the Rocky Mountains. In the East it reaches its western limits in central Texas, central Oklahoma, Missouri, Minnesota, and eastern North Dakota. As of 2023, our records are all from the Piedmont and Blue Ridge.

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 of this wide-ranging species have been found from March through November in different areas of the range. Local populations in North Carolina appear to be bivoltine except at higher-elevations in the Blue Ridge, with adults first flying in April and May and later in mid- to late-summer.

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Populations appear to prefer forested habitats. Most of our records are from either mesic hardwood forests or semi-wooded residential areas.

Larval Host Plants: The larval hosts are poorly documented. Powell and Opler (2009) found that the larvae will feed on various soft-leaf plants and decaying leaves in captivity. They surmised that the larval diet is similar to that of C. peritana, with larvae mostly feeding on dead and decaying leaves, but secondarily feeding on the leaves, flowers, and fruits of living plants. The only documented host is Western Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana var. demissa). - View

Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights.

Wikipedia

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR [S4S5]

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

Comments: This species is often locally abundant and populations show no evidence of marked population declines.

Photo Gallery for Clepsis virescana - Greenish Apple Moth

74 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.

	Recorded by: Marilyn Westphal on 2025-08-29 Henderson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Becky Elkin, Marilyn Westphal, Nora Murdock on 2025-08-25 Henderson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Kevin Bischof, Rich Teper, Patrick Coin on 2025-08-15 Transylvania Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-08-12 Ashe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin on 2025-05-18 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Emily Stanley on 2025-05-08 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-05-01 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-05-01 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Kevin Bischof on 2024-08-07 Transylvania Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-08-06 Transylvania Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-08-05 Transylvania Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-08-05 Transylvania Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-07-14 Watauga Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-07-12 Watauga Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-05-12 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-05-05 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Emily Stanley on 2024-05-01 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2023-09-19 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2023-09-19 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Simpson Eason on 2023-08-16 Watauga Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-07-31 Macon Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper, Becky Watkins on 2023-07-30 Swain Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper, Becky Watkins on 2023-07-29 Swain Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George on 2022-08-15 Avery Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2022-08-14 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: John Petranka on 2022-08-07 Watauga Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Morgan Freese on 2022-07-27 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2022-06-07 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2022-05-26 Guilford Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2022-05-15 Guilford Co. Comment: