Host Plants - Lesser canna leafrollers apparently feed only on plants in the genus Canna. Damage - Lesser canna leafroller caterpillars fasten the edges of leaves before the leaves unroll or the caterpillars can roll up one side of an open leaf. Within this shelter, the caterpillars feed on the upper surface of the leaves, rarely chewing through the lower epidermis except when the caterpillar bores through the rolled leaves. Infested leaves become ragged and shot through with holes. Heavily infested leaves may never open and may die.
Infested plants become unsightly and fail to bloom.
The caterpillars are apparently not cannibalistic as five or six larvae may reside in one rolled leaf. These larvae pupate and adults appear in February and March in Florida and probably March and April in North Carolina. Tiny new caterpillars mine into the leaves until they outgrow the tunnels. They then chew a circular hole to the upper surface and begin to roll the leaves. The caterpillars may feed gregariously.