Adult Recognition
FWL: 6.5-8.5 mm
Forewings are white and gray with a large ocellus consisting of a leaden-metallic center bar surrounded by black and yellow dashes. Adults are not sexually dimorphic. Males lack a forewing costal fold. Male genitalia are characterized by a reduced uncus and several cornuti in the vescia. Female genitalia are characterized by two thornlike signa and a short ductus bursae with a sclerotized ring.
The majority of Pammene are Palearctic, with over 90 species present in the region. Only six species are present in the Nearctic and all can be distinguished from P. fasciana by wing pattern. A genitalic dissection can be used to confirm the identity of questionable or worn individuals.
Larval Morphology
Late instar larvae are approximately 13-15 mm in length with a whitish gray-green to pale-yellow abdomen. The head is yellowish brown and the prothoracic shield is paler than the head and weakly sclerotized.
Other tortricid Castanea pests include Cydia fagiglandana, Cydia glandicolana, Cydia kurokoi, Cydia splendana, and Fibuloides aestuosa. Brown and Komai (2008) provide a description and key to larvae of these species. Pammene fasciana larvae can be distinguished by the following characters: whitish abdomen with large, dark, conspicuous pinacula; SV setal counts on A1,2,7,8,9 as 3:3:2:2(1):1; three L setae on A9 on single pinaculum; distance between V setae on A9 greater than distance between Vs on A8; crochets on prolegs uniordinal (or irregularly biordinal); number of crochets on prolegs 30-33; anal comb present.
Biology
Pammene fasciana completes a single generation per year. Adults are present June-July. Males fly after sunrise and again in the afternoon; females also fly at night.
Females lay eggs singly or in small groups along the veins on the leaves of the host plant. Larvae bore into nuts and feed inside. When the nuts fall from the tree, the larvae bore out of the nut and create a cocoon under tree bark or moss in which to overwinter. Pupation occurs the following spring.
Host plants
Larvae of Pammene fasciana are important pests of chestnut (Castanea sativa). Other preferred hosts include Quercus and Fagus.
| Family | Genus/species | Common name |
| Fagaceae | Castanea Mill. | chestnut |
| Fagaceae | Castanea sativa Mill. | European chestnut |
| Fagaceae | Fagus L. | beech |
| Fagaceae | Fagus sylvatica L. | European beech |
| Fagaceae | Quercus L. | oak |
| Fagaceae | Quercus suber L. | cork oak |
| Fagaceae | Quercus robur L. | English oak |
Distribution
Pammene fasciana is distributed from western Europe east to the Ukraine.
References
Bradley, J. D., W. G. Tremewan and A. Smith. 1979. British Tortricoid Moths - Tortricidae: Olethreutinae. The Ray Society, London, England. 336 pp.
Brown, J. W. and Komai, F. 2008. Key to larvae of Castanea-feeding Olethreutinae frequently intercepted at U.S. ports-of-entry (Lepidoptera : Tortricidae). Tropical Lepidoptera Research. 18(1): 2-4.
Komai, F. 1999. A taxonomic review of the genus Grapholita and allied genera (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in the Palaearctic region. Entomologica Scandinavica Supplement 55. 226 pp.
MacKay, M. R. 1959. Larvae of the North American Olethreutidae (Lepidoptera). Canadian Entomologist Supplement 10: 1-338.
Razowski, J. 2003. Tortricidae of Europe, Vol. 2, Olethreutinae. Frantisek Slamka, Slovakia. 301 pp.
Photo Credits
Fig. 6: Gyorgy Csoka, Hungary Forest Research Institute, Bugwood.org
