054 Cnephasia genitalana

TORTRICIDAE | Tortricinae: Cnephasiini

49.054 Cnephasia genitalana (Scarce Grey Tortrix)

ws: 15-22mm; Jul-Aug; varoius herbaceous plants eg ragworts (Senecio spp), buttercups (Ranunculus spp); chalk downland and rough grasslandin S & SE England and Wales. (§4 has fw 6.3mm which gives ws ~ 14mm)

Cnephasia genitalana §6 male

ID: Whitish ground colour with dark grey-brown markings which are often obsolescent. When discernable the subbasal fascia is narrow with a sharp angle at its middle. As with other Cnephasia spp requires genital dissection for confident identification.
Male genitalia: sacculus long (as long as valva) and strongly drooping; aedeagus slender and curved. The only other species with a similar length sacculus is C.asseclana in which the curve at the tip is less marked and involves only the apical 1/5 of the sacculus; in C.genitalana the apical curve involves the apical 2/5 of the sacculus. The aedeagus in C.asseclana is less curved and more robust.
Female genitalia: Ovipositor broad; colliculum unlipped and asymmetrical, being thickened and bent along the left margin.

Variation
Dissection
Male genitalia
Female genitalia

§1 Ham Fen, Kent; 10/08/2010; female; fw 7.7mm
§2 Westcliff-on-sea, Essex; 09/08/2011; female
§3 Strumpshaw Fen, Norfolk; 28/07/2012; female; fw 9.1mm
§4 Strumpshaw Fen, Norfolk; 25/07/2014; female; fw 6.3mm
§5 Foulden Common, Norfolk; 14/08/2016; female; fw 8.9mm
§6 Foulden Common, Norfolk; 29/06/2017; male; fw 8.6mm
§7 Sutton Fen, Norfolk; 17/07/2017; male; fw 5.6mm!
§8 Stour Wood, Essex; 11/08/2021; female; fw 8.5mm
§9 Blakes Wood, Essex; 31/07/2024; male; fw 5.9mm!; specimen provided by Graham Ekins
All images © Chris Lewis