Oblique Banded Leafroller – Choristoneura rosaceana

Also commonly called rosaceous leafroller, this moth’s hosts include many woody plants. [2]
Live adult moths photographed in the wild at DuPage County, Illinois.

Native to North America, the oblique banded leafroller is not considered a major agricultural pest in the Untited States, in spite of afflicting a wide variety of woody host plants. Foliage damage from larval feeding is usually minor, and fruit damage superficial. [2]

Many of our most important shade and fruit trees can be afflicted: ash (Fraxinus), basswood (Tilia), birch (Betulaceae), buckeye (Aesculus), elm (Ulmus), ; holly (Ilex), maple (Acer), oak (Quercus), willows and poplar (Salicaceae), and especially those in the Rose family (apples, cherries, plum, hawthorn), pear, mountain-ash, and whitebeam.

There are two generations per year in all but the northernmost parts of its range, where adults appear in late June to July. Eggs are laid in clusters of 200-900 and covered with a waxy coating by the female. Larvae hatch in 5-12 days and either crawl to a protected location on its own tree or balloons, via a strand of silk, to another host.

Larvae are yellow-green, 25-30mm long, with a brown or black head. Later instars construct tubular shelters by rolling and tying leaves with silk; they may overwinter in the tube and complete their pupal stage in late May or early June. Pupation takes 10-12 days. [2]

References

1. Bob Paterson, Moth Photographers Group, Bugguide.net
2. Gilligan, T. M. and M. E. Epstein. LBAM ID, U.S. leafrollers (Tortricidae: Archipini) USDA, APHIS, PPQ.
3. United States Geological Survey, Caterpillars of Eastern Forests (morphology)

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