[1] The leek moth is similar in appearance to other members of the genus Acrolepiopsis, with mottled brown and white wings.

[1] It is a pest of leek crops, as the larvae feed on several species of Allium by mining into the leaves or bulbs.

[3] The parasitoid Diadromus pulchellus is used to control the spread of and damage caused by the leek moth in Europe and North America.

Scandinavia and Russia mark the northwestern and northeastern bounds of its range, respectively, and its presence extends to Algeria in the south.

[1] It has since expanded its North American range to include parts of Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, New York,[2] and Nova Scotia.

[6] Climate models suggest that the leek moth's range could continue to expand to encompass a larger portion of eastern North America.

Egg-laying does not take place immediately, however; it occurs only after longer contact with the leaf, during which time another chemical signal cues oviposition.

Propyl-cysteine-sulfoxide has been shown to induce egg-laying in the leek moth and could be involved in host plant selection as a characteristic signal of Allium.

[4] Knowledge of the leek moth's natural predators in North America is limited, but several larval and pupal parasitoids of the species have been documented in Europe.

The leek moth is most vulnerable to parasitism in its pupal stage when it is no longer protected by the interior of its host plant.

These compounds can be transferred to the female during mating and their sexual inhibitory effects on conspecific males favor the monogamy seen in the leek moth.

[8] Experiments suggest that the diets of female leek moths reared in laboratory conditions impact sensitivity to chemoattractants.

It was first discovered in North America in Ottawa, Canada in 1993, and was found in the United States 16 years later in Plattsburgh, New York in 2009.

[3][4] Several methods of leek moth pest control have been tested, including intercropping and trap cropping.