Eyespotted Bud Moth

Eyespotted Bud Moth (Spilonota ocellana)

Hosts

Fruit trees, especially apple and cherry.

Damage

Buds - Webbed bud clusters including one or more dead leaves.
Fruit - Shallow irregular skin tunnels and tiny holes under dead leaf tied to apple. Larvae will also feed on bagged apples. Damage can be confused with that of summer generation obliquebanded and threelined leafrollers but is generally less extensive.

eyespotted bud moth on damage on apple Damage on apple from summer generation: small, shallow holes under dead leaf attached to fruit or where fruit touching
Photo courtesy Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada

Eyespotted bud moth larval feeding damage to pear fruit Eyespotted bud moth on damage on pear

Identification

Larva - Pale to dark chocolate brown with shiny black head; wriggle backwards and hang from silk threads like leafrollers when disturbed.
Adult - Gray moths about 9 mm long with a wide white band across each forewing.

eyespotted bud moth Eyespotted bud moth larva

Adult budmoth Adult budmoth

Life History

This pest is common from Summerland north in the Okanagan Valley, the Fraser Valley, and the Creston Valley; damage is rare elsewhere in the Okanagan and Similkameen valleys. Young larvae overwinter in silken cocoons in the crotches of twigs and branches. They emerge near the green tip stage and construct nests of leaves and blossoms, feeding mainly on leaves. Larvae pupate in the nests and moths emerge in mid-June to late July. After mating, females lay eggs singly on leaves. Summer larvae tie dead leaves to fruit and feed on the fruit surface. In September larvae seek overwintering sites on the trees. There is one generation per year.

Monitoring

In spring look for feeding damage to leaves and bud clusters. In late July and August examine fruit for surface feeding, usually in areas of red fruit where larvae attach a leaf or where two adjacent fruit were touching. A pheromone-baited trap is commercially available to monitor adults, however no relationship between moth captures and subsequent larval abundance has been established.

Control

It is important to control the spring generation of bud moth larvae in order to reduce the need to control the summer generation that causes the economic damage. Refer to the discussion under Leafrollers for additional management practices to minimize bud moth damage.

Chemical - Diazinon, Guthion or Sniper pre-bloom sprays applied for two-generation leafrollers, Bruce spanworm and green fruitworms will also control bud moth. Biological insecticides Dipel, Foray or Bioprotec applied during bloom (and 10 days later if needed) will also provide control. Confirm and Intrepid applied for control of obliquebanded and threelined leafrollers in the spring or summer will aid in suppression of any bud moth and codling moth larvae present. Success/Entrust can also be used for control of bud moth larvae at petal-fall and in the summer (maximum 3 applications/season). Success/Entrust can harm earwigs and parasitic wasps exposed to direct sprays; however there is no threat once the residues dry. Lack of insecticide applications in the spring or for second generation codling moth may require one or more sprays in July and August. This is especially true for stone fruits.

March 2006

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