insects Article Immigrant Tortricidae: Holarctic versus Introduced Species in North America Todd M. Gilligan 1,*, John W. Brown 2 and Joaquín Baixeras 3 1 USDA-APHIS-PPQ-S&T, 2301 Research Boulevard, Suite 108, Fort Collins, CO 80526, USA 2 Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA;
[email protected] 3 Institut Cavanilles de Biodiversitat i Biologia Evolutiva, Universitat de València, Carrer Catedràtic José Beltran, 2, 46980 Paterna, Spain;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected] Received: 13 August 2020; Accepted: 29 August 2020; Published: 3 September 2020 Simple Summary: The family Tortricidae includes approximately 11,500 species of small moths, many of which are economically important pests worldwide. A large number of tortricid species have been inadvertently introduced into North America from Eurasia, and many have the potential to inflict considerable negative economic and ecological impacts. Because native species behave differently than introduced species, it is critical to distinguish between the two. Unfortunately, this can be a difficult task. In the past, many tortricids discovered in North America were assumed to be the same as their Eurasian counterparts, i.e., Holarctic. Using DNA sequence data, morphological characters, food plants, and historical records, we analyzed the origin of 151 species of Tortricidae present in North America. The results indicate that the number of Holarctic species has been overestimated by at least 20%. We also determined that the number of introduced tortricids in North America is unexpectedly high compared other families, with tortricids accounting for approximately 23–30% of the total number of moth and butterfly species introduced to North America.