Identification and Control Methods for the Peach Fruit Moth

Latin scientific name: Carposina niponensis Walsingham

Distribution:

Morphological characteristics: Adult body length 7-8 mm, wingspan 16-18 mm, grayish brown. The middle of the front wing's leading edge has a large blue-gray nearly triangular patch. The wing surface has 7 clusters of blue-brown obliquely erect scale hair tufts. The female's labial palps are longer, the male's shorter. Eggs are oval, red, with 2 or 3 rings of "corpse-shaped bristles" at the top. Larvae are 13-16 mm long, peach-red, with a brown pronotal plate. Young larvae are yellowish-white. No anal spine. Pupae are 6-8 mm long, changing from yellowish-white to yellowish-brown. The winter cocoon is flat-round, with tightly woven silk; the summer cocoon is spindle-shaped and loose. Both are covered externally with soil particles.

Damaged crops: apple, jujube, hawthorn, pear, peach

Damage symptoms: Peach fruit moth larvae only damage the fruit. After young larvae bore into the fruit, the bore hole exudes bead-like juice, which dries into a white membrane mark. The larvae feed on the flesh in a string-like manner inside the fruit; fruits damaged at the young fruit stage become deformed. The larvae deposit droppings inside the fruit, making it lose its edible value.