Tortricid leafroller moths

Overview

Tortricidae is a very large family of small moths. It occurs on all continents except Antarctica. There are currently more than 11,800 Tortricidae species in 1,153 genera in 3 subfamilies worldwide, 1,393 species in 135 genera in 3 subfamilies in North America north of Mexico, and at least 298 species in 77 genera in 2 subfamilies in Minnesota.

Most Tortricidae caterpillars are leaf rollers, feeding inside a shelter they formed by tying a number of leaves together with silk. Some species feed on foliage in the open, and some bore into stems, roots, buds, or nuts. Many are important economic pests, including the spruce budworm, which can defoliate and kill a tree. Adults do not feed.

Description

Tortricidae are small, cryptically colored moths. Adults range in size from 3⁄16″ to 11⁄16″ (5 to 18 mm) and have a wingspan of no more than 1 3⁄16″ (30 mm).

The head is covered with rough scales. The finger-like sensory organs attached to the upper part of the mouth (labial palps) are short, they have three segments, and they are held erect or projected forward.

The single adult feature that unites the family Tortricidae is the derived structure of the female ovipositor, which typically features flattened, pad-like lobes.

Distribution

Sources

24, 30, 82.

Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu. Accessed 9/20/2026).

Tortricidae Latreille, 1803 in Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Abreu, C., Acero P, A., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (2026-08-26 XR). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgyy9