Lyre moth

Cnephasia jactatana · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Tortricidae

Damages trees, gardens or crops. The black-lyre leafroller moth damages kiwifruit and a range of other fruit trees.

It is native to New Zealand and occurs throughout the country. Caterpillars feed on kiwifruit and many other fleshy-fruit trees, causing leaf loss and damage to fruit.

Source: Wikipedia

Is it a pest in the house?

It is a known pest of kiwifruit and can also harm other fruit-bearing trees such as citrus and grapevine.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

Larvae live in silken tubes on the frond of hound’s-tongue fern and eat its leaves.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Caterpillars eat the leaves of kiwifruit and also feed on citrus, hawthorn, persimmon, ebony, eucalyptus, fuchsia and grapevine, sometimes damaging the fruit husk.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

Females lay eggs on the upper surface of leaves. The larvae prefer older leaves for feeding.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

Older scientific names for this moth include Batodes jactatana, Sciaphila flexivittana, Paedisca privatana and Paedisca voluta.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Lyre moth photo 2 — Photo: Michael Berardozzi, CC BY

Lyre moth photo 3 — Photo: Christopher Stephens, CC BY-SA

Lyre moth photo 4 — Photo: sam-rajnikant, CC BY

Lyre moth photo 5 — Photo: Aalbert Rebergen, CC BY

Questions people ask

What plants does the black-lyre leafroller moth damage?

Its caterpillars feed on kiwifruit and many other fruit trees, including citrus, hawthorn, persimmon, ebony, eucalyptus, fuchsia and grapevine, causing leaf loss and fruit damage.

Source: Wikipedia

How does it lay its eggs?

The female moth deposits eggs on the topside of leaves.

Source: Wikipedia

What are other names for this species?

It has been called Batodes jactatana, Sciaphila flexivittana, Paedisca privatana and Paedisca voluta in older literature.

Source: Wikipedia