oblique-banded leafroller moth

Oblique-banded leafroller moth is a common, medium-sized, leafroller moth. It occurs across most of the United States and southern Canada from the East Coast to the West Coast, but it is uncommon to absent in the Great Plains and the Southwest. It is common in Minnesota.

There are two generations per year. Adults are active from June through July and from late August through September. The larvae feed on a wide variety of woody plants, but they show a distinct preference for plants in the Rose (Rosaceae) family. They have also been recorded on aster and on sunflower.

Adults are ½″ (12 mm) in length and they have a wingspan of about 1″ (25 mm). Females are larger than males. Moth size is often given in terms of forewing length. The forewing length for females is 7⁄16″ to 9⁄16″ (11.5 to 14.0 mm), for males it is 5⁄16″ to 7⁄16″ (7.5 to 11.0 mm).

The head, antennae, and thorax are light brown to reddish brown. Most individuals have a black or blackish patch on the rear of the thorax.

The leading edge (costal margin) of each forewing is slightly to distinctly concave on the rear third, which gives the moth a slightly to distinctly bell-shaped appearance. The forewings are light brown or light reddish brown with dark markings and shading of the same color. These include numerous, distinct, short, dark, irregular lines. The antemedial (AM) line is a thin dark line from the costal margin to the inner margin. In the median area there is a conspicuous, oblique, dark band. This is the feature that gives the moth its common name. There is a semi-oval dark patch on the costal margin in the subapical area. On the male there is an extension on the costal margin of the forewing (costal fold) from the base to the antemedial line. Dark appressed scales on the folded over portion form a distinct dark patch above the AM line.

The rear half of each hindwing is whitish on the male, yellowish on the female.

The mature caterpillar is 1″ to 1 3⁄16″ (25 to 30 mm) long and dark green, pale green, or yellowish green. The head capsule is black or dark brown. The plate over the first segment of the thorax (thoracic shield) is variable in color. It is often mostly black or blackish (shaded) with white or whitish at just at the front margin. The amount of shading is highly variable, as the shading recedes from the front. On some individuals, the thoracic shield is mostly or entirely whitish or the body color.

Total length: ½″ (12 mm)

Male forewing length: 5⁄16″ to 7⁄16″ (7.5 to 11.0 mm)

Female forewing length: 7⁄16″ to 9⁄16″ (11.5 to 14.0 mm)

Wingspan: about 1″ (25 mm)

Two generations per year in Minnesota: June through July and late August through September

The late stage (instar) larva folds over an edge of a leaf and secures it with silk, creating a chamber in which it lives and feeds. This is the behavior that gives the Family Tortricidae its common name.

Adults are active at night and will come to lights.

Mostly plant leaves, but also flowers and developing fruits.

Sources

4, 21, 24, 27, 29, 30, 75, 82, 83.

Common and widespread

Tortricidae - Choristoneura rosaceana
Caterpillars of the Allegheny National Forest

Oblique-banded Leafroller Moth - Hodges#3635 (Choristoneura rosaceana)
Andrée Reno Sanborn

Oblique-banded Leafroller (Tortricidae: Choristoneura rosaceana) on Window Pane
Carl Barrentine

lbique-banded Leafroller Moth (Torticidae: Choristoneura rosaceana) on Wall
Carl Barrentine

Oblique-banded Leafroller Moth (Tortricidae: Choristoneura) on Grassblade
Carl Barrentine

Oblique-banded Leafroller (Tortricidae: Choristoneura) on Leaf
Carl Barrentine

Alfredo Colon
6/3/2021

Location: Woodbury, MN

Hidden caterpillar