Gypsonoma aceriana

• Subfamily: Olethreutinae, Eucosmini
• Wingspan: 13-15 mm
• Flight period: Jun - Aug
• Spread: Common
• Host plants:Populus sp., Acer sp.

Information

The Gypsonoma aceriana also called Poplar Shoot-borer is a moth of the Tortricidae family with a wingspan of 15-22 mm. In Europe we find it almost everywhere it is absent from Croatia, Ukraine, Estonia and Finland.*
Its range extends to eastern Turkey and Iraq and north Africa. *
In Italy it is present also in the islands. *

The front wings of the Gypsonoma aceriana have a creamy white background color, with very light brown or lead gray markings. The basal region is brownish in color, with gray shades, well separated from the discal region, which has the light color of the bottom.
Moderately defined median area, with slight brown / gray markings, one in particular more visible, triangular in shape in the postdiscal region along the inner margin.

The sub marginal region has various markings especially near the apex. A well-defined light brown ocello is present on the apex. The costa is of the coloring of the respective regions up to about one third, from there to the apical spot there are brown streaks.
The margin is fringed, gray / brown, up to about half, then it is white.

The hind wings are greyish, also fringed.

The adults are visible in flight, after sunset, from June to August in two or three generations, in environments with the presence of wooded areas.
It overwinters in the larva stage within the buds of the host plant. **

Gypsonoma aceriana is a common species in poplar plantations and nurseries. It has been registered as a parasite in Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Older larvae are found in the shoots and under the terminal shoots, which are usually destroyed causing bushy growth of lateral shoots and rendering young trees unmarketable.

The larvae are brown / yellowish with a reddish head and black prothoracic shield. **, ***
The chrysalis is ocher-yellow in color.
The larvae feed on various species of Populus and Acer, **** in particular of Populus nigra, Populus nigra subsp. italica, Populus alba, Populus balsamifera (poplar), Acer platanoides and Acer campestre (maple).


* Lepidoptera mundi https://lepidoptera.eu/ - Fauna Europea https://fauna-eu.org/
** Bestimmungshilfe für die in Europa nachgewiesenen Schmetterlingsarten - http://lepiforum.de/
*** Meyrick, E., 1895 A Handbook of British Lepidoptera MacMillan, London - https://archive.org/details/handbookofbritis00meyr/page/n7/mode/2up
**** Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa - https://leps.it/