Pest profile

Omnivorous Leafroller

Platynota stultana · Lepidoptera: Tortricidae[2]

Omnivorous leafroller caterpillars build silk-tied leaf nests, and where they tie leaves to fruit they can badly scar it.[1]

Omnivorous leafroller moth, a small brown bell-shaped moth with a dark band and snout, resting on window screen
Omnivorous leafroller moth, a small brown bell-shaped moth with a dark band and snout, resting on window screen. (c) Ken-ichi Ueda, some rights reserved (CC BY) — via iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0

How to identify it

  • Larvae are brown to cream or greenish brown, up to 3/5 inch, with a black or brown head and shield behind it.[1]
  • A faint dark stripe often shows down the back, and the bumps at the base of bristles are chalky white.[1]
  • Adults are small dark brown moths up to 1/2 inch with a dark wing band and a snout, bell-shaped at rest.[1]

Where it lives

It feeds on many hosts, including caneberries, fruit and nut trees, grapes, ornamentals and weeds.[1]

US map: public records from 8 states since 1990 (GBIF).

Biology and life cycle

Each caterpillar may build several nests and pupates in a nest or on bark in a thin cocoon.[1]

Females lay overlapping egg masses like fish scales on leaves or bark.[1]

There are up to five or six generations a year in warm interior valleys.[1]

Damage and signs

  • Larvae chew foliage inside their nests, and feeding between leaves and fruit causes substantial fruit scarring.[1]

Health risk

It feeds on plants; UC IPM mentions no risk to people.[1]

Control

Sanitation

Remove alternate-host weeds and plant debris that harbor pupae.[1]

Traps and physical control

Hand-pick webbed leaves and larvae on small plants.[1]

Biological control

Parasitic wasps, tachinid flies, Trichogramma, lacewings, assassin bugs and spiders often keep numbers low.[1]

Pesticides

Only if numbers are high, a well-timed Bt or spinosad spray works; repeat Bt in 7 to 10 days and keep spinosad off flowering plants.[1]

Common questions

What's rolling up leaves with silk on my plants?
Leafroller caterpillars such as the omnivorous leafroller tie leaves with silk and feed inside.[1]
Do I need to spray?
Low numbers don't warrant insecticide; healthy plants tolerate some leaf loss.[1]

Sources

  1. University of California Statewide IPM Program, “Omnivorous Leafroller (Pests in Gardens and Landscapes).” ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/VEGES/PESTS/omnileafroller.html (accessed 2026-10-06)
  2. iNaturalist, “Platynota stultana taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/258623 (accessed 2026-10-06)

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