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How to Manage Pests

UC Pest Management Guidelines

| More pests | More crops | About guidelines |

Apple

Eyespotted Bud Moth

Scientific name: Spilonota ocellana

(Reviewed 8/06, updated 8/06)

In this Guideline:

DESCRIPTION OF THE PEST

Eyespotted bud moth has become an important pest in organic apple orchards in coastal areas but is not a problem in the interior valleys. Larvae are dull brown caterpillars with a shiny black head. Adult moths are gray and similar in appearance to a codling moth but smaller and with a white band across the mid-section. In California, two generations per year have been observed. Adults of the overwintering generation appear in May and lay eggs, which hatch in late June and July. Larvae feed on leaves and the surface of fruits throughout summer. The summer generation adults emerge in September and October. It is believed that the larvae produced by the summer generation overwinter in hibernacula. These larvae emerge in late winter, pupate in spring, and emerge as adults in May. The life cycle and damage from eyespotted budmoth is similar to the apple pandemis moth, and they may co-exist in the same orchard.

DAMAGE

Larvae feed primarily on emerging buds and leaves in spring. They roll leaves later in spring and pupate in these leaf rolls. The leaf rolls often contain a dead leaf in the center.

Larvae of the summer generation feed on leaves; the first sign of egg hatch is often windowpaning of leaves where small areas are chewed out leaving just a web of veins. Check with a hand lens for the presence of the small brown larvae in windowpaned areas. Larvae also attach leaves to the fruit with silk and feed on the fruit under the attached leaf, making individual, shallow feeding marks.

MANAGEMENT

Eyespotted bud moth is primarily a pest in organic apple orchards where pheromone mating disruption for codling moth control is used. In conventional orchards, synthetic pesticides applied for other pests easily control eyespotted budmoth. This insect has become a pest in organic apple orchards only in recent years, and effective control measures are still being evaluated. Monitor eyespotted bud moth flights with pheromone traps, which should be placed in the orchard by May 1. Maintain traps through the growing season. Treatments may be warranted in organic apple orchards.

Common name Amount to Use P.H.I.+
(trade name) (conc.) (dilute) (days)
When choosing a pesticide, consider information relating to the impact on natural enemies and honey bees and environmental impact.
 
DELAYED DORMANT/PRE-BLOOM AND LATE JUNE/JULY
A. SPINOSAD
  (Entrust)# 2-3 oz 0.67-1 oz 7
  MODE OF ACTION: A microbial (Group 5)1 insecticide.
  COMMENTS: A maximum of one prebloom spray and two sprays 7-10 days apart in late June and July after the first windowpaning is observed is suggested. Do not apply more than 9 oz of Entrust/acre/year. No more than three sprays of Entrust applied for leafrollers are recommended on the label. Alternation with Bacillus thuringiensis may help delay development of resistance.
 
B. BACILLUS THURINGIENSIS ssp. KURSTAKI#
  (various products) Label rates Label rates 0
  MODE OF ACTION: A microbial (Group 11.B2)1 insecticide.
  COMMENTS: A maximum of one prebloom spray and one early bloom spray as well as two sprays 7-10 days apart in late June and July after the first windowpaning is observed is suggested. Alternate with Entrust for resistance management. Most effective when applied during warm, dry weather and while larvae are small.
 
 
**  For concentrate applications, use the amount given in 80–100 gal water/acre, or lower if the label allows; for dilute applications, amount is per 100 gal water to be applied in 300–400 gal water/acre, according to label.
+ Preharvest interval. Do not apply within this many days of harvest.
# Acceptable for use on organically grown produce.
1 Modes of action are important in preventing the development of resistance to pesticides. Rotate chemicals with a different mode-of-action Group number, and do not use products with the same mode-of-action Group number more than twice per season. For example, the organophosphates have a Group number of 1B; chemicals with a 1B Group number should be alternated with chemicals that have a Group number other than 1B. Mode of action is assigned by IRAC (Insecticide Resistance Action Committee). For additional information, see their Web site at http://www.irac-online.org/.

[Precautions]

PUBLICATION

[UC Peer Reviewed]

UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines: Apple
UC ANR Publication 3432
Insects and Mites
J. L. Caprile, UC Cooperative Extension, Contra Costa County
L. R. Wunderlich, UC Cooperative Extension, El Dorado County
P. M. Vossen, UC Cooperative Extension, Sonoma and Marin counties
W. W. Coates, UC Cooperative Extension, San Benito County
H. L. Andris, UC Cooperative Extension, Fresno County
L. G. Varela, UC IPM Program, Sonoma County
W. J. Bentley, UC IPM Program, Kearney Agricultural Center, Parlier
Acknowledgment for contributions to the insects and mites section:
C. Pickel, UC IPM Program, Sutter and Yuba counties

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Statewide IPM Program, Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California
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