Meet the Pest: Codling Moth
Apples, pears and walnuts are the main hosts,
but codling moths also like apricots, peaches and almonds
Certis Choice Solution:
CYD-X Insecticidal Virus
In 1747, the moth Cydia pomonella was given the common name "codling moth" after the elongated, greenish English cooking apple known as “codling.” As apples were cultivated, the codling moth spread and today is the most important pest of apples worldwide.
Life History
Depending upon the climate and sometimes the host plant, codling moths can produce one to four generations. During each generation, a small proportion of the larvae enter diapause for up to two years.
The female codling moth has mature oocytes upon emergence.
Flight occurs at and after dusk, mainly on warm, still evenings. A female attracts a mate by releasing a pheromone; once contact has been made, the male clasps the female abdomen with his claspers. Mating can take up to 80 minutes depending on whether the male has previously mated.
Egg-laying usually takes place on warm evenings. Eggs are laid singly on developing fruits and foliage. Codling moth females lay between 30 and 70 eggs, ovipositing for four to seven days and living for about four days after the last oviposition.
After hatching, the larva burrows immediately into a fruitlet. Larvae pass through five instars while feeding within the fruit and then vacate it. Larvae then spin cocoons within cracks in the tree trunk and under loose pieces of bark or among debris on the ground. Where the pest is multivoltine, pupation of a significant proportion of the population of the early generations starts immediately. For the last generation, larvae overwinter and pupate the following spring.