Seasonal development
and life cycle—Artichoke plume moth
Female moths lay an average of 245 eggs. Eggs are usually laid singly on the underside of leaves and
occasionally on the bud stalk. The freshly deposited eggs are light greenish yellow and turn darker with
age.
Larvae hatch and feed externally on leaves of vegetative shoots. After the first molt, larvae start
tunneling into the leaf stalk. Some larvae may move toward the leaf petiole or toward the buds and mine
the outer
bracts. With each subsequent molt, the larvae work their way toward the center of the bud. Larvae undergo
four to five instars. When close to pupation, larvae cease feeding and emerge from the feeding site
and generally drop to the ground. Pupation generally occurs in plant debris, among folds of dried-up
leaves.
There are three to four overlapping generations of the plume moth a year. |
Plume moth larvae feeding in choke
|
