Proteoteras aesculana
Encyclopedia
The Maple Twig Borer, Early Proteoteras or Maple Tip Moth (Proteoteras aesculana) is a moth
of the Tortricidae
family. It is found from coast to coast in the northern United States
, south to Mississippi
in the east and to California
in the west. It has a scattered distribution in Canada
, from Nova Scotia
to southern Alberta
.
The wingspan
is 11-18 mm. Adults are on wing from April to October in the northern United States. In California, adults have been collected as early as February and as late as September, suggesting that there are multiple generations in the San Francisco Bay area. There is one generation per year in the eastern part of the range.
Larvae have been recorded on Boxelder, Silver maple, Sugar maple and Bigleaf maple, but probably also feed on other Maple species. The larvae hollow out dormant buds and seeds in fall and continue to feed on dormant buds in spring. During the growing season, larvae bore in fresh shoots, often destroying them and preventing terminal growth. The larvae mix frass (which is ejected from the galleries) with webbing to form shelters around the entrances.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
of the Tortricidae
Tortricidae
Tortricidae is a family of moths, commonly known as tortrix moths, in the order Lepidoptera. Tortricidae is a large family with over 9,400 species described, and is the sole member of the superfamily Tortricoidea. Many of these are economically important pests. Olethreutidae is a junior synonym...
family. It is found from coast to coast in the northern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, south to Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
in the east and to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in the west. It has a scattered distribution in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, from Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
to southern Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 11-18 mm. Adults are on wing from April to October in the northern United States. In California, adults have been collected as early as February and as late as September, suggesting that there are multiple generations in the San Francisco Bay area. There is one generation per year in the eastern part of the range.
Larvae have been recorded on Boxelder, Silver maple, Sugar maple and Bigleaf maple, but probably also feed on other Maple species. The larvae hollow out dormant buds and seeds in fall and continue to feed on dormant buds in spring. During the growing season, larvae bore in fresh shoots, often destroying them and preventing terminal growth. The larvae mix frass (which is ejected from the galleries) with webbing to form shelters around the entrances.