Bug FAQLesser Maple Leafroller
Acleris chalybeana · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Tortricidae
Also called: Lesser Maple Leafroller Moth
The lesser maple leafroller has a wingspan of about 20 mm and its forewings are olive-grey. It lives across North America, where its larvae eat the leaves of maples, oaks, birches, hazels and beeches. Adults can be seen from early spring through late fall, and the larvae overwinter on twigs before pupating in folded leaf shelters.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The forewings are olive grey.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The wingspan ranges from 20 to 21 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is found in North America.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on the leaves of red maple, silver maple, mountain maple, red oak, birch (including paper birch), hazel and beech species.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Early-instar larvae may spend the winter in protective hibernacula on host-plant twigs. Pupation occurs inside a folded leaf shelter.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults have been recorded on the wing from March through November.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It is native to North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 28 of 51 states and DC. Most records: New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Connecticut, Michigan, Wisconsin, Maryland.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
When can I see adult lesser maple leafrollers?
Adults are active from March to November.
Source: Wikipedia
What trees do the larvae feed on?
They eat leaves of maples, oaks, birches, hazels and beeches.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Tortricidae)
Oblique-banded Leafroller MothChoristoneura rosaceanaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Garden TortrixClepsis peritanaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Common MarbleSyricoris lacunanaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Red-banded Leafroller MothArgyrotaenia velutinanaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Light Brown Apple MothEpiphyas postvittanaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Aster and Reddish Eucosma Moths and AlliesEucosma parmatanaSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acleris_chalybeana
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-25 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-25.