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How to identify it
- The caterpillar is pale yellow with a brown head. From its third instar it rolls a leaf into a small tube and feeds inside on the leaf tissue.[1]
- The moth has a wingspan of about 20 mm, and Natural Resources Canada's photographs show that the wing pattern varies a great deal from one adult to the next.[1]
- Other leafroller species attack hardwoods in the northern forest, so to be sure of the insect, unroll the leaf and look closely at the caterpillar.[1]
Look-alikes
| Look-alike | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| Large aspen tortrix | The large aspen tortrix (Choristoneura conflictana) also mines swelling aspen buds in spring and then rolls leaves to feed inside, but its grown caterpillar is dark green to almost black and 12 to 21 mm long, with black legs, while the birch-aspen leafroller's caterpillar is pale yellow with a brown head. Natural Resources Canada's advice for any hardwood leafroller is to open the roll and examine the caterpillar.[2][1] |
| Birch casebearer | The birch or cigar casebearer (Coleophora serratella) feeds from inside a brown, cigar-shaped portable case about 8 mm long instead of rolling the leaf.[2] |
Where it lives
It is found throughout the range of birch in Canada, from southern Ontario to the Northwest Territories, and the USDA manual notes it is sometimes abundant in the northeastern United States.[1][2]
Biology and life cycle
The main host is white birch. Trembling aspen, alders and yellow birch are also attacked, and the USDA manual adds various other hardwoods.[1][2]
The female lays her eggs singly at the base of buds. In spring the young caterpillars bore into the swollen buds and feed on them, then eat the leaves before they have fully opened.[1]
In the third instar the caterpillar rolls a leaf into a small tube and feeds inside it on the leaf tissue.[1]
The moth was known in Europe from 1758 and was first reported in North America in British Columbia in 1909. Infestations followed by quiet periods are regularly reported in Ontario and Quebec.[1]
Damage and signs
- Damage starts with the buds, which the young caterpillars hollow out, and continues on the unfolding leaves and in the rolled feeding tubes. Natural Resources Canada's photographs include a trembling aspen stand defoliated by this insect.[1]
- The damage is usually sporadic and local, and the insect is considered a pest of secondary importance, although it is sometimes abundant in the Northeast and Ontario.[1][2]
Health risk
The sources treat it only as a leaf feeder on hardwoods and mention no effect on people.[1][2]
Control
Prevention
Natural Resources Canada rates it as a pest of secondary importance with sporadic, local damage, and infestations are followed by lull periods, so a bad year is not usually a sign of a lasting problem.[1]
Traps and physical control
On a yard birch or aspen, the rolled leaves are easy to spot and pick off by hand; unrolling one also confirms which caterpillar is inside.[1]
Common questions
- What rolls birch leaves into little tubes in early summer?
- A pale yellow, brown-headed caterpillar in a rolled birch or aspen leaf is likely the birch-aspen leafroller. Unroll the leaf to check, since other leafrollers use hardwoods too.[1]
- Will it kill my birch?
- The sources describe damage as usually sporadic and local and call it a pest of secondary importance; outbreaks come and go with quiet periods between them.[1][2]
- Where does it occur?
- Across the range of birch in Canada, from southern Ontario to the Northwest Territories, and in the northeastern United States, where it is sometimes abundant.[1][2]
Sources
- Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, “Birch-aspen leafroller, Trees, insects and diseases of Canada's forests.” tidcf.nrcan.gc.ca/en/insects/factsheet/11020 (accessed 2026-11-10)
- USDA Forest Service, “Eastern Forest Insects, Miscellaneous Publication 1175 (W. L. Baker, 1972; scanned copy).” archive.org/details/easternforestins1175bake (accessed 2026-11-10)
- iNaturalist, “Epinotia solandriana taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/219346 (accessed 2026-11-10)