Pest identification
and confirmation—Oriental fruit moth
Oriental fruit moth damage to twigs is similar to that caused by peach twig borer: Young shoots wilt
and die back 1 to several inches from the tip. Search for caterpillars to distinguish damage from the
two pests. On green and ripe fruit, oriental fruit moth bore right into the center to feed around the
pit, a habit that distinguishes them from the more superficially feeding peach twig borers.
On mature larvae, use a hand lens to detect the presence of an anal comb of stiff bristles under the
last abdominal sclerite (the rear end of the caterpillar), which helps distinguish oriental fruit moth
(OFM) from other white or pink worms such as peach twig borer (PTB) that may be found in stone fruits. |
Anal comb helps distinguish OFM from PTB |
OFM
larva |
PTB
larva |
|
