Caterpillar or Larvae Rolled in Thimbleberry, Salmonberry, and Blackberry Leaves- Leaburg OR - Ask Extension
We're looking for help identifying this insect.
Rolled up in the leaves of Thimbleberry, Salmonberry, and Blackberry Leaves in our wooded creek area...
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Caterpillar or Larvae Rolled in Thimbleberry, Salmonberry, and Blackberry Leaves- Leaburg OR #643422
Asked May 30, 2020, 1:20 PM EDT
We're looking for help identifying this insect.
Rolled up in the leaves of Thimbleberry, Salmonberry, and Blackberry Leaves in our wooded creek area in Leaburg.
Pictures attached.
Lane County Oregon
Expert Response
Hi!
Well, I can't tell exactly which insect that is from the photos, but it looks like a caterpillar (Order: Lepidoptera) and most of the leaftier and leafroller species are in the family Tortricidae, so that is a good place to start. There are too many possibilities to say which tortricid caterpillar this might be feeding on thimbleberry. The best way to figure out the species would be to rear some of them to adulthood in captivity. Once you had an adult, the genus or species ID would be much easier.
Hope that helps a bit...
We ended up with a parasitic wasp like insect...the cocoon was small brown/black and took this long to hatch then it appears to be a parasite. Took it outside to get a better picture and it flew away.
Thanks for the follow-up note. That is a parasitic wasp. Very interesting!!
Looks like there is some natural biological control for those caterpillars. Nice job on the rearing!
