Orange Fruit Borer

Isotenes miserana · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Tortricidae

Damages trees, gardens or crops. The orange fruit borer’s larvae damage a wide range of fruit trees and garden plants, including oranges, avocados, macadamia, lychee, grapes and mulberries.

Source: Wikipedia

Orange Fruit Borer
Photo: Donald Hobern, CC BY

Adults have a wingspan of about two centimeters. They occur in Australia’s northern and eastern states and have been introduced to New Zealand. The caterpillars feed on many cultivated fruits and ornamental plants, making them a serious garden and orchard pest.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

The moth’s wings measure roughly 20 mm across.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

The species has also become established in New Zealand after introduction.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Larvae feed on the flowers and fruits of many crops such as orange, avocado, macadamia, lychee, grape and mulberry.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Orange Fruit Borer photo 3
Photo: Donald Hobern, CC BY
Orange Fruit Borer photo 4
Photo: Donald Hobern, CC BY

Questions people ask

Which plants are affected by orange fruit borer larvae?

They damage oranges, avocados, macadamia, lychee, grapes and mulberry trees, among other fruit and ornamental plants.

Source: Wikipedia

How big is the orange fruit borer?

The adult moth’s wingspan is about 20 mm.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Tortricidae)

Oblique-banded Leafroller MothOblique-banded Leafroller MothChoristoneura rosaceanaDamages trees, gardens or cropsGarden TortrixGarden TortrixClepsis peritanaDamages trees, gardens or cropsCommon MarbleCommon MarbleSyricoris lacunanaDamages trees, gardens or cropsRed-banded Leafroller MothRed-banded Leafroller MothArgyrotaenia velutinanaDamages trees, gardens or cropsLight Brown Apple MothLight Brown Apple MothEpiphyas postvittanaDamages trees, gardens or cropsFilbertworm MothFilbertworm MothCydia latiferreanaDamages trees, gardens or crops

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotenes_miserana

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.