Pest profile

Carnation Tortrix

Cacoecimorpha pronubana · Lepidoptera: Tortricidae[3]

The carnation tortrix is a small leafroller moth whose caterpillars roll and web the leaves of Portuguese laurel and many other broad-leaved plants, seldom causing serious damage.[1]

Carnation tortrix moth, a small bell-shaped orange-brown moth, resting on a plant
Carnation tortrix moth, a small bell-shaped orange-brown moth, resting on a plant. Photo: Jean-Paul Boerekamps, public domain (CC0), via iNaturalist

How to identify it

  • Moths are small and bell-shaped, brown with dark bands on the upper wings and reddish underwings, with a wingspan of 0.5 to 0.9 inch.[1]
  • Caterpillars are light brown or greenish with brown heads, 3/8 to 1/2 inch long when grown.[1]
  • Disturbed caterpillars are very active and often wriggle backward.[1]

Where it lives

The PNW Insect Management Handbook covers it in Pacific Northwest landscapes; outside the US it's reported to be a serious pest of carnations.[1]

US map: public records from 2 states since 1990 (GBIF).

Biology and life cycle

Females lay yellow, flattened eggs in groups of 10 to 200, 500 to 700 in all, which take 5 to 55 days to hatch.[1]

Larvae are active year-round and can spread by ballooning on the wind; pupation takes 10 to 15 days.[1]

Damage and signs

  • Larvae roll leaves and tie them with webbing; it attacks many broad-leaved plants but seldom causes serious damage.[1]

Health risk

It feeds on plants; the PNW Insect Management Handbook mentions no risk to people.[1]

Control

Traps and physical control

Hand-pick rolled leaves with larvae or pupae, and clear rolled leaves on the ground or stuck to trunks where leafrollers overwinter.[2]

Biological control

Spiders, parasitic wasps and predators such as the brown lacewing greatly reduce leafroller numbers.[2]

Common questions

What caterpillar rolls and webs the leaves of my Portuguese laurel?
Often the carnation tortrix, a leafroller that attacks many broad-leaved plants.[1]
Why does the caterpillar wriggle backward when I touch its rolled leaf?
Carnation tortrix larvae are very active when disturbed and often wriggle backward.[1]

Sources

  1. Pacific Northwest Pest Management Handbooks (OSU, WSU, University of Idaho), “Laurel, Portuguese (Prunus): Carnation tortrix (Insect Management Handbook).” pnwhandbooks.org/insect/hort/landscape/hosts-pests-landscape-plants/laurel-portuguese-prunus-carnation-tortrix (accessed 2026-10-06)
  2. Pacific Northwest Pest Management Handbooks (OSU, WSU, University of Idaho), “Landscape pests: Leafroller and leaftier (Insect Management Handbook).” pnwhandbooks.org/insect/hort/landscape/common/landscape-leafroller-leaftier (accessed 2026-10-06)
  3. iNaturalist, “Cacoecimorpha pronubana taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/141743 (accessed 2026-10-06)

Updated 2026-10-14. Built from sourced records. Spot an error? Tell us.