Molecular Identification of Adoxophyes honmai (Yasuda) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) Based on Mitochondrial COI Gene Sequences

Molecular identification techniques are used where morphological characters are not useful for distinguishing species that resemble each other closely. The example studied here is the Adoxophyes species complex, in which A. orana (Fischer von Rosslerstamm) is officially the only known Korean species in the genus Adoxophyes (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). However there have been suspicions that at least two types of A. orana exist in Korea based on the distribution and range of the host, with A. orana attacking apples and peaches, and another Adoxophyes sp. attacking tea and pears. The latter is presumed to be A. honmai (Yasuda), but the two have remained confused because of their extreme morphological similarity, despite several Asian studies of pheromonal and morphological characteristics.