The Olive
Moth -
Prays Oleae
|
Current News |
2/12/02 - Yes, there is another olive pest to start worrying about. The olive moth (Prays Oleae) is the second most troublesome pest for olives in the Mediterranean. In a single year three generations of the moth typically plague the orchard. The California Department of Food and Agriculture (C.D.F.A.) has started trapping in southern California and the international services of the USDA is trapping in California to signal spread from Mexico. Hopefully the pest can be stopped at the border, an intervention which was not successful with the olive fly. Customs officials have intercepted 80 olive moths at major ports including a moth found at a Los Angeles entry port.
Biological Information About the Olive Moth |
Common Names: Also called the Olive Kernel Borer, Pollila del olivo, Teigne de l'olivier, Tignola dell'olivo, Traça da oliveira
Description: |
Adult: length 6-7 mm. Fore
wings grey with silvery tone and
small scattered dark spots. Hind
wings are of uniform grey with
frayed margins. Grey scales with a
silvery tones cover the body and
legs
Egg: Sub-ovate, flat somewhat
convex; length 0.5 mm. Immediately
after laying eggs are whitish
becoming darker later as the embryo
grows. They turn yellow if aborted.
Larva: General colour green
with light brown tones
(*) ; maximum length 7-8 mm by
1.5 mm width.
Pupa:
the pupa is enclosed by a
whitish lightly built cocoon of silk
threads and measures about 6 mm by 2
mm. It is brown, elongate, sub-coniform
with tapered distal end.
Life Cycle: |
In a single year three generations of the olive moth typically plague the orchard.
Adults
emerge from pupae on the leaves or
in cracks in the bark in April. The
female lays eggs on flower buds
which the first generation
larvae attack. The insect pupates
and hatches into a moth that lays
eggs on the emerging fruitlets.
Flower damage may
be light to moderate.
The 2nd-generation larvae grow inside the olive stone kernels, then eventually pupate. This olive fruit grub is the more troublesome stage. It can cause massive fruit drop and damages the fruit for canning and oil making. Olive Oil affected by the moth will have an oxidized, rancid taste or grubby taste. Olive grubs pupate into adults which lay eggs on leaves.
The 3rd-generation larvae are leaf miners that use silk to roll the leaf into a protective shape. The leaf larvae can live for months during the fall and winter months, with the pupae over wintering on the leaf or bark to start the cycle over.
The moth does not
necessarily pass through all three
generations if weather or orchard
conditions are different.
Flower bud larvae may pupate into
adults which go directly to the
leaves, etc.
Assessment of infestation: |
Traps are used for assessing moth levels in an orchard.
Making Control Decisions: |
Olive Moth Abatement Methods: |
Phermones:
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Commercial Products Available in CA |
People involved in Olive Moth Abatement |
See county Agricultural commissioners:
Calaveras County Agricultural Commissioner
Contra Costa County Agricultural Commissioner
El Dorado County Agricultural Commissioner
Fresno County Agricultural Commissioner
Kern County Agricultural Commissioner
Kings County Agricultural Commissioner
Lassen County Agricultural Commissioner
Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner
Merced County Agricultural Commissioner
Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner
Napa County Agricultural Commissioner
Placer County Agricultural Commissioner
Sacramento County Agricultural Commissioner
San Diego County Agricultural Commissioner
San Francisco County Agricultural Commissioner
San Joaquin County Agricultural Commissioner
San Mateo County Agricultural Commissioner
Santa Barbara County Agricultural Commissioner
Santa Clara County Agricultural Commissioner
Siskiyou County Agricultural Commissioner
Sonoma County Agricultural Commissioner
Stanislaus County Agricultural Commissioner
Tulare County Agricultural Commissioner
Tulare County Rural Crime Task Force
Yolo County Agricultural Commissioner
See county U.C. extension experts