Apple moth [2] ( lat. Hyponomeuta malinella ) - a small moth from the family of ermine moths (Yponomeutidae), a dangerous pest of apple trees.
| Apple Moth | ||||||||||||||
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 Apple Moth Caterpillars on a Tree | ||||||||||||||
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| Latin name | ||||||||||||||
| Yponomeuta malinellus Zeller , 1838 | ||||||||||||||
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Distributed in Europe - in the British Isles , in Finland , Sweden ; in Asia - in Korea , Japan , the Siberian part of Russia , Manchuria (China), Iran , Pakistan ; in North America, in British Columbia (Canada) and the United States ( Washington and Oregon ). [one]
Content
Description
The body of the apple moth is white , with a velvety sheen. The antennae are filiform, thrown back in a calm state; lower lip tentacles protruding forward. Fore wings are white, with 18-20 black dots located in three irregular longitudinal rows; at the apex of the wing, these 3 rows are connected by very small black dots; hind wings on both sides, as well as front wings on the underside, are ash gray; length about 20 mm. Apple moth is found in Central and Southern Europe . Butterflies begin to appear in the first half of June and usually stay in the grass for the first days, and then during the day they sit motionless on the underside of the leaves, and fly briskly in the evening and at night. Females lay their testicles mainly on 2–4-year-old apple trees, choosing a bark with a smooth surface for this purpose.
Life Cycle
The testicles are covered with yellow mucus (secretion of the accessory genital glands), which forms a sort of shield over a bunch of testicles, which subsequently takes on a grayish-brown color; these heaps are oblong in shape, 4-5 mm in diameter and enclose 15-65 elongated oval yellowish testicles. In 3.5–4 weeks after masonry, yellowish caterpillars with a dark brown head hatch, which remain overwinter under the scutellum, eating the testicular chorion and gnawing a little bark underneath. In the spring, caterpillars settle in the parenchyma of young leaves of the apple tree, passing from one leaf to another; while the skin of the leaves both above and below remains untouched. The affected leaves turn brown, withering and falling from the trees.
After some time, the caterpillars go outside, covering the upper side of the leaves with a spider web , under which they live in societies. In the second half of May, caterpillars settle on the tops of branches, arranging large nests from the web; the nest gradually expands and captures more and more leaves, so that the number of caterpillars in the nest can reach up to 1000; sometimes caterpillars cover the entire tree with cobwebs.
Adult caterpillars, known in some places under the name of the May worm, reach 1.8 cm in length, dirty yellow with a black head and black chest legs; on the dorsal side there are 2 longitudinal rows of black spots, next to which there are 2 black spots; the same points are located on the sides of the track. In late May and early June, caterpillars pupate in white oblong cocoons , located in groups (up to several hundred or even 1500 pieces) in the axils of the branching apple trees; pupae are yellowish red. With strong reproduction, apple moth can cause very significant harm to apple trees; heavily damaged trees do not bear fruit at all for two years.
Natural Enemies
Chemicals are not an effective way to control the spread over vast territories.
Control Measures
- Picking up spring of young brown leaves (in which the caterpillars are located);
- Spraying trees with insecticides : Parisian herbs , Bordeaux liquid or arsenic solution using the Vermorel apparatus and others; spraying is done before or after, and not during flowering;
- Picking cocoons with hands or poles with a fork at the end.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Plant Pest Information - Yponomeuta malinellus (Zeller) - Apple Ermine Moth ( Canadian ) Canadian Food Inspection Agency
- ↑ Striganova B.R. , Zakharov A.A. The Bilingual Dictionary of Animal Names: Insects (Latin-Russian-English-German-French) /Ed. Dr. biol. sciences, prof. B.R. Striganova . - M .: RUSSO, 2000 .-- S. 215. - 1060 copies. - ISBN 5-88721-162-8 .
Literature
- Rimsky-Korsakov M.N. ,. Apple moth // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.