Green oak tortrix
In outbreak years this tiny green moth's caterpillars can strip oak stands bare by early summer, and the trees often push out fresh lammas growth leaves.
| Where | Deciduous woodland, especially oak stands |
|---|---|
| Size | 18 to 24 mm wingspan |
| When | May to July |
The green oak tortrix is a small moth with plain light green forewings and pale grey hindwings, the only uniformly green tortricid moth found across its range. It rests with wings folded roof-like over the body on oak trunks and foliage.
Caterpillars hatch as oak buds open and feed inside rolled or folded leaves, sometimes multiplying so heavily that they strip entire stands of oak bare by early summer. Affected trees commonly recover with a second flush of leaves, called lammas growth, later in the season.
Traits
Habitat
Woodland
Colour
Green, Grey
Active
Night
To people
A woodland moth of oak trees, not people; harmless to handle.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Similar green forewings but slightly smaller at about 16 to 20 mm wingspan, with a whitish costal stripe and white hindwings, and it rests tent-like rather than flat.
Questions
Is the Green oak tortrix dangerous to people?
A woodland moth of oak trees, not people; harmless to handle.
When can you see the Green oak tortrix?
The Green oak tortrix can be seen from May to July, at night.
Plate retouched from a photo by Ben Sale from Stevenage, UK, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons Licence
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Butterflies and moths›Tortrix moths›Tortrix
Last updated 2026-09-26. Every entry is checked against published sources.