Tortrix viridana
Encyclopedia
The tortrix moth
Tortrix viridana is known as the European oak leafroller and the green oak moth. It is a distinctive green moth whose larvae feed on tree leaves, especially oak
.
An infestation of the larvae can defoliate an oak tree. The adult female lays its eggs next to leaf buds which the larvae consume when they emerge. As the larvae grow bigger they eat larger leaves, and then roll themselves up in a full-sized leaf to pupa
te.
The Ichneumon wasp
Dirophanes invisor is a parasitoid
which specializes on T. viridana.
Tortricidae
Tortricidae is a family of moths, commonly known as tortrix moths, in the order Lepidoptera. Tortricidae is a large family with over 9,400 species described, and is the sole member of the superfamily Tortricoidea. Many of these are economically important pests. Olethreutidae is a junior synonym...
Tortrix viridana is known as the European oak leafroller and the green oak moth. It is a distinctive green moth whose larvae feed on tree leaves, especially oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
.
An infestation of the larvae can defoliate an oak tree. The adult female lays its eggs next to leaf buds which the larvae consume when they emerge. As the larvae grow bigger they eat larger leaves, and then roll themselves up in a full-sized leaf to pupa
Pupa
A pupa is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation. The pupal stage is found only in holometabolous insects, those that undergo a complete metamorphosis, going through four life stages; embryo, larva, pupa and imago...
te.
The Ichneumon wasp
Ichneumon wasp
The Ichneumonoidea are insects classified in the hymenopteran suborder Apocrita. The superfamily is made up of the ichneumon wasps and the braconids...
Dirophanes invisor is a parasitoid
Parasitoid
A parasitoid is an organism that spends a significant portion of its life history attached to or within a single host organism in a relationship that is in essence parasitic; unlike a true parasite, however, it ultimately sterilises or kills, and sometimes consumes, the host...
which specializes on T. viridana.