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Occurrence Patterns and Control Methods of the Euonymus Leafroller Moth

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The Euonymus leafroller moth belongs to the order Lepidoptera, family Zygaenidae. Its larvae damage the tender leaves and shoots of host plants, feeding on the foliage; in severe cases they strip the branches bare, or even cause entire stands to wither and die. In the Jining region, the Euonymus leafroller moth has one generation per year and overwinters as eggs on the host's branches and shoot tips. The overwintering eggs mostly hatch in mid-to-late March; in sheltered, sunny spots they can hatch 5-7 days earlier, and the hatching peak generally occurs around March 20. A single egg mass can finish hatching in 2-3 days, which coincides with the emergence of new leaves on the Euonymus. From late April to early May, the mature lar

The Euonymus leafroller moth belongs to the order Lepidoptera, family Zygaenidae. Its larvae damage the tender leaves and shoots of host plants, feeding on the foliage; in severe cases they strip the branches bare, or even cause entire stands to wither and die.

In the Jining region, the Euonymus leafroller moth has one generation per year and overwinters as eggs on the host's branches and shoot tips. The overwintering eggs mostly hatch in mid-to-late March; in sheltered, sunny spots they can hatch 5-7 days earlier, and the hatching peak generally occurs around March 20. A single egg mass can finish hatching in 2-3 days, which coincides with the emergence of new leaves on the Euonymus. From late April to early May, the mature larvae begin to descend to the ground to spin cocoons and pupate, mostly congregating about 5 cm below the soil surface in soil crevices around the root zone or among dry weeds, where they pass the summer as pupae; the pupal stage can last as long as half a year.

Adult emergence occurs around mid-October, with the emergence peak generally reached by the end of October.

The following control methods can be adopted:

1. Manual control: Because the overwintering eggs are mostly attached to the tops of the current year's fresh branches, before winter each year the eggs can be controlled in combination with pruning in green belts by cutting off the egg-bearing branches to eliminate the eggs.

2. Chemical control: Because the hosts of the Euonymus leafroller moth are mostly landscaping plants, highly toxic pesticides should be prohibited. In recent years we have conducted control trials with highly effective, low-toxicity pyrethroid pesticides. The results show that in the early stage of larval occurrence, that is, from the end of March to early April each year, applying a 3000-fold dilution of 5% deltamethrin EC or 5% cyhalothrin EC and spraying it evenly on the infestation center and surrounding shoot tips gives a control effect of about 98%; other pyrethroid pesticides such as 20% fenpropathrin EC and 20% fenvalerate EC can also achieve very good control results.

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