CODLING MOTH

What is a codling moth?Codling Moth (Cydia pomonella)- The adult moth can be identified by it's grayish brown with lacy brown lines on the forewings. The larvae are pink with brown heads, while the eggs are flat, white, and laid singly. After mating, female moths will lay up to 20 eggs in a week s time. Codling moth eggs are laid directly on the fruit, or sometimes on leaves. The codling moth egg take one to three weeks to hatch depending on surrounding temperature.

Their larva are larger than the adult, one inch for the larva to the adult 3/4 inch. There are 2 generations per year. First generation larvae are present in fruit from June to late August. Second generation moths emerge in early August. The larvae are pests to apples, crabapples, hawthorns, pears and walnut but are noted for their destruction of many different fruits.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, they have claimed:
"The luscious aroma of ripe pears could spell doom to codling moths. Agricultural Research Service scientists have discovered that a certain chemical in pears provides just the right perfume to attract female codling moths to traps. That's a breakthrough that may revolutionize integrated pest management in apple, pear, and walnut orchards worldwide—and will help growers to continue providing safe food more economically."

"Codling moths are the most severe and widely distributed pest of apples, pears, and walnuts in the world. The moths were accidentally introduced into the United States from Europe in the 1700s and have been a menace ever since."

"Uncontrolled, the larvae—the worm in the apple—can destroy up to 95 percent of an apple crop and up to 60 percent of a pear crop. Feeding by larvae creates holes in walnut hulls and shells that can allow fungi to enter and infect the kernels. Some fungi produce toxins that at high levels are a food safety concern. Both federal and international regulations prohibit growers from selling toxin-contaminated nuts."

The damage caused by their sting and entrance into the fruit are shallow excavated areas below the skin surface. This injury results in surface blemishes but do not result in any interior breakdown of the fruit's flesh. The deep entries are caused by larvae eating through the flesh as they tunnel toward the core to feed on the seeds. This injury causes internal breakdown of the fruit often leading to premature drop from the tree.

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