Tortricidae (weed bioagents)
Tortricidae (weed bioagents) - (leaf roller/codling moths, against weeds)
The Tortricidae contains more than 5,000 species, including many important crop pests. However, several species are specialized on certain weeds and are regarded as beneficial. This page deal with the latter group. Some species have been deliberately introduced into other countries as part of biological control agents against weeds like the ragweed borer, Epiblema strenuana.
The members of this family are typically medium-size, nocturnal moths with a wingspan of 1-3 cm. The forewings often have characteristic colour pattern and are broad, as are the hind wings. The caterpillars often live inside rolled or joined leaves, some are also borers that attack fruits, pods and seeds.
For crops pests in this family see Tortricidae (crop pests).
The following genera and individual species are currently entered as weed bioagents under this family:
