White-spotted Leafroller – Argyrotaenia alisellana
Live adult moths photographed at McKee Marsh Forest Preserve, DuPage County, Illinois.
The white-spotted leafroller feeds on trees in the family Fagaceae, primarily white oak (Quercus alba) and Burr oak (Quercus macrocarpa).
Moths in the family Tortricidae are commonly called Tortricid, tortrix, or leafrollers, after their caterpillar’s habit of shelter-building by folding or rolling the leaves of its host plant. Tortrix caterpillars employ a wide variety of feeding techniques, all damaging to the victim: root boring, fruit boring, seed predation and flower-feeding.
While tortricids are known primarily as agricultural pests, a few have been used as biological control agents of invasive plant species. [1]
References
- Brown, J. W., G. Robinson & J. A. Powell. 2008. Food plant database of the leafrollers of the world (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) (Version 1.0.0). http://www.tortricidae.com/foodplants.asp.
- tortricid.net, Argyrotaenia alisellana
- Bugguide.net, Species Argyrotaenia alisellana – White-spotted Leafroller – Hodges#3624
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