The adult citrus leafroller is a small brown moth, with curved wings which bear black spots. The larvae are slender and green, with a dark head Adult moths are active during the night, and shelter in the tree during the day. The pale green eggs are laid singly, usually on the upper surface of the leaf near the midrib. The newly hatched larvae spin a thin silk web on the leaf surface, and stay beneath it to feed. As the larvae grow, they begin to fold or roll the leaf longitudinally and feed within the roll. From time to time they move to new sites and make a new leaf roll. When the larvae are mature, they pupate inside a cocoon inside the leaf roll. Damage is mainly from the loss of young leaves, which reduces photosynthesis and depresses the yield.
Photographed at Turtle River State Park, North Dakota (14 June 2010)
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Leafroller Caterpillar
Leafroller Moth (Tortricidae) Caterpillar on Oak Leaf
I've been a Tree Surgeon (that’s the old name for Arborist) for over 50 years, furthermore Warner’s Tree Surgery has been serving Mesa, Gilbert, Tempe, Chandler, Scottsdale and parts of Phoenix for over 25 years.
The newly hatched larvae spin a thin silk web on the leaf surface, and stay beneath it to feed. As the larvae grow, they begin to fold or roll the leaf longitudinally and feed within the roll. From time to time they move to new sites and make a new le
af roll. When the larvae are mature, they pupate inside a cocoon inside the leaf roll. Damage is mainly from the loss of young leaves, which reduces photosynthesis and depresses the yield.