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Summer Fruit Tortrix Moth, Adoxophyes orana

The summer fruit tortrix moth, Adoxophyes orana is a major pest of fruit crops, particularly apple and pear, in temperate regions.

Hosts of this polyphagous pest also include some forest tree species (CABI 2004). Adoxophyes orana has been detected throughout much of Europe and Asia but is not known to occur in the United States (CIE 1982).

The Summer Fruit Tortrix Moth feeds on a wide variety of forest tree, but prefers apple, pear, cherry, plum and apricot. It has the two generations in a year, one in the summer and the other in the autumn. This moth is reported to feed and develop on more than 50 plant species in multiple families including fruits, forest trees, and ornamentals.

Biology

There are two generations of this species in a year. The first generation summer caterpillars usually appear in June and attack the leaves. In case of severe infestations caterpillars migrate to the fruit.

The 2nd-generation adults appear in August -September, mate and lay eggs. These are known as autumn caterpillars. They then seek a place for overwintering. Adult female lay in batches of 100-150 eggs and last 25-30 days. Larval stages pass through four instars within 18-21 days. Pupae are dark brown in colour. Pupal development period is 15-20 days.

Nature of Damage

Caterpillars attack the plant by feeding on the leaves and fruits. Larvae can cause potential damage of the fruit surface and also leave holes in the fruit. The first generation of summer fruit tortrix caterpillars causes the greatest economic loss to fruit production. The Second generation also causes large depressions on the fruit surface before overwintering. These fruit attacks allow fungi to invade.

Monitoring

Russell IPM manufactures and supplies a pheromone lure – the Qlure, traps and complete monitoring systems for Summer Fruit Tortrix Moth, Adoxophyes orana.

Pheromone trap data gives early warning of the infestation and will also alert the user to a low level of population before it becomes serious.

The lure can be best applied with the Mothcatcher trap or Delta trap.