2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
In September or October, when the years of all the other butterflies are already over, a spectacular peppered moth appears on the plots. These cute pests attack both fruit trees and numerous forest species with equal force. And, despite the fact that the moth-moth gives off a single generation for a year, the harm from its invasions can be very serious
Meet the pest
The peppered moth is a rather interesting butterfly, endowed with a slender thin body and a well-developed proboscis, thanks to which it can freely feed on the nectar of fragrant flowers. The body length of males ranges from 22 to 26 mm, and their wingspan ranges from 30 - 35 to 40 - 45 mm. Their triangular wide front wings are painted in light yellow tones and equipped with two transverse curved stripes bordering the light median area. And in the very center of the front wings of males, you can see bright black spots. The hind wings of voracious parasites are slightly rounded, painted in whitish-yellowish tones, decorated with small specks and covered with dark brownish pollen. However, there are a great many options for the color of males.
As for the females, they are characterized by a yellowish color and lack of wings. Their backs are greenish-grayish, and on them, as well as on the abdomens, one can notice small black spots.
The size of the oval eggs of the peppered moth is about 1 mm. Initially, they are colored in yellowish-whitish shades, and after a while all the eggs turn bright orange. Harmful larvae, growing in length up to 30 - 35 mm, have red-brown or brownish integuments, and well-visible bright yellow stripes pass on their backs and sides. And the lower parts of the bodies of the larvae are always light-colored. Pupae reach sizes from 10 to 15 mm and are characterized by light brown or dark brown color.
Butterfly years start with the onset of autumn. Roughly from mid-September to early November, males fly at night or at dusk. True, these dates apply only to the northern regions - in the southern regions, the years of males lasts until the end of December or even until the beginning of January. And wingless females all this time sit on twigs and on tree trunks. After mating, they begin to lay eggs, hiding them in internodes, cracks in the bark, as well as in the buds or in the axils of branches. The eggs are placed either singly or in small groups (from two to three to twenty five eggs). The total fertility of females in this case is from two to eight hundred eggs. By the way, the eggs of these pests are usually overwintering.
Around April, miniature scattered caterpillars (larvae) begin to appear. They very actively eat young buds, leaves and fruits. Having satiated enough, adult caterpillars go into the soil and form there, at a depth of twenty to twenty-five centimeters, numerous earthen cocoons, in which they will pupate. As a rule, caterpillar development starts in early April and ends closer to mid-June. So why do butterflies only fly out in the fall? The answer is simple - pupae spend in the ground from two to three months!
How to fight
Before flowering, fruit trees are treated with such effective insecticides as Metathion, Phosphamide, Zolon or Cyanox. Such drugs as "Chlorofos", "Nexion", "Metaphos" or "Karbofos" will also serve well. Also, before the tiny buds bloom, fruit trees can be treated with "Oleocubrite" or "Nitrafen".
Discovered caterpillar colonies are promptly collected and immediately destroyed along with their spider nests. And the tree bark is systematically cleaned from dead particles and mosses. It will be useful to whitewash the trunks.
As soon as the apple trees bloom, the soil is immediately dug up - this measure will contribute to the destruction of the cradles of pupating caterpillars. And with the onset of autumn, trapping belts are attached to the trees - they will not allow females to climb into the tree crowns, as a result of which the pests will begin to lay eggs exclusively on the lower parts of the boles, where they can be easily detected and immediately treated with the Nitrafen salvage solution.
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