| Birch-aspen Leafroller (Epinotia solandriana (Linnaeus, 1758)) |
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Scientific name: Epinotia solandriana (Linnaeus, 1758) Common name: Birch-aspen Leafroller French name: Enrouleuse du Bouleau Order: Lepidoptera Suborder: Microlepidoptera Family: Tortricidae Subfamily: Olethreutinae Wingspan: 16-21 mm. Biotope: Forests, open woodlands, copses, parks and gardens. Geographic area: Europe, Asia east to eastern Russia. Introduced to North America. Flight time: July-August. Number of generations : 1 Caterpillar: Pale yellow with a brown head. Caterpillars first feed on buds and then on leaves. Later they grow inside a leaf rolled as a tight cylinder of about 1cm of diameter. Then they drop down to the ground. Host plant: Birches (Betula spp), Alders (Alnus spp), Hazels (Corylus spp), Willows (Salix spp) and some other deciduous tree species. |
Birch-aspen Leafrollers are very variable in colour. The fore wings show a triangular spot whose base touches the inner edge and whose top, sometimes blunt, is located at the centre of the wing. When the Leafroller is landed with its wings folded over the body, the two spots merge to form a typical dorsal marking. There are forms with a pale ground colour and a dark marking, whitish with a brown marking per example, and other forms with a dark ground colour and a pale marking, reddish brown with a whitish grey marking per example. The hind wings are a more or less pale greyish brown colour. Birch-aspen Leafrollers over winter at the egg state. |
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I have observed this Leafroller in my garden. I just need to find a tight rolled leaf now, on one of my Birches or on my Hazel. |
André Bon February 2019