How to Manage Pests
Pests in Gardens and Landscapes
Omnivorous leafroller—Platynota stultana
Omnivorous leafroller caterpillars feed within nests they
build by tying leaves or leaves and fruit together with
silk webbing. Mature larvae ae green to cream colored but
so translucent that you can see the main blood vessel running
down their backs. Their head and the thoracic shield just
below the head is brown.
Omnivorous leafrollers feed on a wide variety of vegetables,
fruit trees and ornamental plants. When they feed between
leaves and fruit they can cause substantial fruit scarring.
Larvae do not burrow into fruit. Damage to leaves is not
usually severe enough to warrant control.
Clean up gardens by removing host weeds and trash. Hand
removal of webbed leaves and larvae can help control caterpillars
in vegetables. General
predators and parasites including
a tachinid fly Erynnia
tortricis and Trichogramma wasps
may attack larvae or eggs. Treatment should not be required
in vegetable gardens.
For more information on leafrollers, see the Leafrollers on Ornamental and Fruit Trees Pest Note.
Omnivorous leafroller larva
Leafroller damage to leaf
Feeding damage on plum