Correctly identify the type of insect larva. The biology and management of leafrollers differs from other caterpillarlike larvae. Leafrollers have pairs of prolegs (leglike appendages, or fleshy stubs) on abdominal segments 3 to 6 and the last segment.Color of the head and prothoracic shield (black at left), and the color of tubercles (mounds on the body top and sides from which bristles arise, at right) help to distinguish the species of leafroller.
Common leafroller species
Amorbia, or western avocado leafroller
Amorbia cuneana
Yellowish green to dark green body up to 1 inch long. Distinguished from other leafrollers by two black stripes on each side, on the head and above the first pair of legs.
Mostly on avocados, also on citrus, grapes, and ornamentals.
Light brown apple moth
Epiphyas postvittana
Light to medium green body up to 3/4 inch long, black or yellow to light green head, and black to light- or medium-green prothoracic shield.
Mostly a pest of ornamentals in coastal areas; also found on caneberries, fruit trees, vines, and other plants.
Omnivorous leafroller
Platynota stultana
Cream to brown body up to 3/5 inch long with black or brown head and prothoracic shield. Mounds (tubercles) at the base of the bristles along top and sides are chalky white. The main blood vessel along the back is often visible through the cuticle as a faint dark stripe.
On caneberries, fruit and nut trees, grapes, and ornamentals, mostly in inland valleys.
Apple pandemis
Pandemis pyrusana
Greenish body up to 1/2 inch long with yellowish green or straw-colored head and prothoracic shield.
Mostly on apples, caneberries, pears, and strawberries in coastal areas.
Fruittree leafroller
Archips argyrospila
Greenish body up to 1 inch long with a black or brown head and prothoracic shield; occurs only during spring.
On fruit and nut trees, oaks, ornamentals, and vines in coastal areas and inland valleys.
Orange tortrix
Argyrotaenia franciscana
Body greenish to bright yellow or straw-colored and up to 1/2 inch long; head and prothoracic shield brown, gold, or straw-colored. The mounds (tubercles) at the base of the bristles along top and sides are brown, greenish, or yellow, not white.
On cole crops, caneberries, fruit and nut trees, grapes, and ornamentals, mostly in coastal areas.
Garden tortrix
Clepsis (=Ptycholoma) peritana
Brown to green body up to 1/2 inch long and brown head and prothoracic shield; has a small, distinct dark brown spot on each side of the head.
Mostly on chrysanthemums, cole crops (crucifers, Brassicaceae), figworts, and strawberries.
Obliquebanded leafroller
Choristoneura rosaceana
Yellowish-green body up to 1-1/4 inches long with a black or brown head and prothoracic shield. Larvae present throughout the growing season, unlike similar fruittree leafroller.
On fruit trees, ornamentals, and vines, mostly in inland valleys.
MORE INFORMATION
Field Identification Guide for Light Brown Apple Moth in California Nurseries (PDF), UC ANR.
Tortricids of Agricultural Importance (TortAI) including all known hosts for each species and identification keys to adults and larvae, California Department of Food and Agriculture and Colorado State University.
