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Insecta, Lepidoptera, Tortricidae .
Description, Biology, Life Cycle, Damage, Common Names, Images
[R]Biology
- This pest occurs on plum and dawson.
- Adult: The moths move about at dusk. Egg laying generally starts when the plum fruits have a diameter of about 10 mm and occurs at intervals over 3 weeks to a month; it occurs in the evening when the temperature is above 15°C. The average fecundity is 45 eggs.
- Egg: development lasts 9 to 15 days.
- Larva: development lasts 20 to 25 days. The caterpillar penetrates very rapidly into the fruit near the base of the peduncle, of which it cuts the libero-ligneous fibres (*) ; at the end of its growth, it abandons the fruit and pupates (first generation) or spins a hibernation cocoon under a shelter on the surface of the ground or under the bark (second generation).
- Pupa: development lasts 10 to 15 days.
[R]Life Cycle
- 2 generations per year.
- Caterpillars in diapause pupate from the end of March and the moths appear from end of April to beginning of June. Most of the flights take place about 15 days after the plum trees flower.
- The second flights takes place end of June, laying occurs at intervals over 3 to 4 weeks, the eggs being deposited on the fruits which for the most part have finished growing.
[R]Damage
The damage caused by first generation caterpillars often passes unnotoced, the dropping of the fruit being mistaken for physiological drop (unfertilized fruit for example). The second-generation caterpillars cause important losses on the semi-late and late varieties. The attacked fruit takes on a dark coloration, ceases to develop and exudes a few characteristic gummy droplets through the caterpillar's entry hole opening (*) ; it drops prematurely. Early varieties are attacked only slightly.
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