Leaf-Rolling Weevils

How to identify it

• The oak leaf-rolling weevil, Homoeolabus analis, is less than 1/4 inch long and reddish orange with a black head and legs.^[1][2]
• A similar species, Attelabus bipustulatus, is shiny black with two bright red spots.^[1]
• Grubs are legless, curved and plump with brown heads.^[1][2]

Where it lives

Homoeolabus analis lives in coastal states from the Northeast to Louisiana, including peninsular Florida, and is more common near the coast in North Carolina.^[1][2]

US map: public records from 27 states since 1990 (GBIF). View the map

Biology and life cycle

The female cuts slits on both sides of the leaf midrib, lays an egg near the tip, then folds and rolls the leaf into a neat roll called a nidus.^[1][2]

The grub feeds on the leaf tissue inside the roll and pupates there.^[1][2]

Damage and signs

• They roll leaves of about 16 oak species and two chestnuts, but are seldom abundant enough to be pests.^[1]

Health risk

None to people or pets.^[1]

Control

Prevention

Control is rarely needed; if weevils are truly out of hand, NC State says a home-landscape pyrethroid applied early in the season should protect trees.^[1]

Related profiles

• Acorn Weevils

Common questions

What are the little rolled-up oak leaves?

Often nests made by leaf-rolling weevils, each holding one egg.^[1][2]

Sources

1. NC State Extension, “Leafroller Weevils (PDIC Factsheet).” content.ces.ncsu.edu/leafroller-weevils (accessed 2026-10-16)
2. University of Florida IFAS Extension (EDIS, Featured Creatures), “Leaf-Rolling Weevil, Homoeolabus analis (EENY-420).” ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN753 (accessed 2026-10-16)
3. iNaturalist, “Homoeolabus analis taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/71259 (accessed 2026-10-06)