Host Plants
Leek moth (LM) is a serious pest of members of the Allium family which includes onions, garlic, leeks, chives and shallots. There are about 600 cultivated and wild species of Allium in the United States as potential hosts.
Garlic. Photo: Amy Ivy, Cornell University.
Leeks. Photo: Amy Ivy, Cornell University.
Onions. Photo: Amy Ivy, Cornell University.
Shallots. Photo: Amy Ivy, Cornell University.
Distribution and History
Leek moth (LM) is native to Europe and is now found in Russia, Japan, Algeria and in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It was first found in Ontario in 1993.
The first confirmed sighting of leek moth in the continental United States was in Plattsburgh, NY (Clinton County) during the summer of 2009. The following year it reappeared in the same sites as well as additional sites north of Plattsburgh.
It was confirmed for the first time in the Canton/Ogdensburg (St. Lawrence County) area of NY in 2010. There is speculation from growers there that it may have occurred in years prior, but was not confirmed.
In 2011 the same sites were infested again as well as a few new nearby sites.
Leek Moth Presence in North America as of April, 2021. The top five northeastern counties in New York, all but the bottom two southeast counties in Vermont, and two counties in northeastern Maine.
Fact Sheets
- Leek Moth Fact Sheet 2022 (PDF) — University of Vermont Extension
- Leek Moth Fact Sheet 2011 (PDF) — Cornell Cooperative Extension
- (revised August 2009)
Training Materials
- Leek Moth: Background, Biology, and Occurrence
- Leek Moth Damage Examples