False Codling Moth
Encyclopedia
Thaumatotibia leucotreta commonly known as the False Codling Moth is a moth
in the Tortricidae
family under the order of Lepidoptera
. Larvae
of the moth feed on a wide range of crops from cotton
and macadamia
nuts to citrus
. The larvae have a less selective diet than the Codling moth
, which feeds primarily on temperate fruit crops.
The moth is believed to have originated in Sub-Saharan Africa
. Outside of Africa the False codling moth has had limited success in establishing itself; however, this insect has been detected in Europe and the United States. From 1984 to 2008, there have been 1500 interceptions of the moth on 99 plant taxa at 34 different ports of entry in the United States.
The False codling moth is adapted for warm climate
survival. Temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius impede development and reduce survival rates. Below 1 degree Celsius, all stages of the life cycle are terminated resulting in death. The species
is prone to alternate-year infestation severity. Under ideal conditions (warm and humid) up to five generations a year may be produced.
moths lay their eggs
between 5:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. The eggs are deposited on the surface of the host fruit over irregular intervals throughout the female's life. Under ideal conditions (25°C) a single moth can produce up to 800 eggs. Egg incubation is temperature dependent and the period from deposition to hatching ranges from 2 to 22 days. Higher temperatures correlate to quicker developmental rates. Eggs are ovoid in shape with a granulated surface. They have a cream to white color when first laid that changes to a reddish color as development progresses. Sizes vary around 0.77 mm in length, 0.60 mm in width, and 1 mm in diameter.
burrow a 1 mm diameter hole into the host fruit. A discoloration appears at the wound site. Once the larvae are inside the pulp they begin to feed. Young larvae feed on the outer portion while older specimens move further into the interior of the fruit. Only a few larvae may survive per a fruit. This stage lasts from 12 to 67 days depending on weather conditions. Upon maturity the larvae exit the fruit and drop to the ground on silken threads. Initially, on emergence from the egg, the larvae are only 1 mm and spotted. By the time of emergence from the fruit the larva have grown to roughly 15 mm and have developed an orange and pink color.
stage the False codling moth larvae spin a cream colored cocoon in the soil. Metamorphosis
then occurs. The length of this stage is both temperature and gender regulated. Warmer periods are conducive to a quick emergence, while cooler temperatures render the process to a slower rate. Male moths require between 13 and 47 days to reach maturity and females need between 11 and 39 days.
emerges from its cocoon. The moths are inactive during the day and are only active during portions of the night, isolated to within several hundred meters of their birth. Males may live between 14 and 57 days, where as females will live between 16 and 70 days. Adults have patterned 1.25 to 2 cm wings with a variation of colors: grey, brown, black, and orange-brown. A female's hind-wing is slightly larger than a male's.
. In citrus such as oranges the skin around the point of penetration develops a brown discoloration. The bored hole itself will also show signs of stress, excreting a brown substance. Often fruits afflicted early in development prematurely drop. Infestations late in the season may result in the harvest
and packaging of infected fruits if undetected. Once the fruits outer surface has been compromised the incidence of disease
and mold
increases. The open cavity is a point of entry for other pests and pathogens.
usage.
A 1921 bulletin on the False codling moth produced by the South African government outlines measures on how to deal with an infestation. It discredits banding the trees with nets as an effective practice and promotes destroying all natural fruit trees near the orchard
, collecting and destroying all fallen fruits, spraying arsenate of lead, and flooding the orchard during the winter months. Later, increased knowledge of the harmful affects of lead to humans ended the practice of spraying acetate of lead.
One of the more common pesticides in use is benzyl-urea. However, in some locations the False codling moth has developed some resistance. Other tactics for managing the moth use the power of attraction. Mercury vapor light traps and pheromonal traps are used lure the adults where they can be captured. There have been incidences of quarantining a section of an infected orchard.
A team at Rhodes University
in South Africa is in the process of developing a virus
that attacks the False codling moth. The insect-pathogenic virus is known as Cryptophlebia leucotreta granulovirus (CLGV) and lives in the digestive tract of the moth. An infection results in a reduction in appetite
and eventual death. The pathogen
is also capable of mutations and will be able to withstand possible resistance the moths may develop to the virus.
, Benin
, Burkina Faso
, Burundi
, Cameroon
, Cape Verde
, Central African Republic
, Chad
, Congo Democratic Republic, Côte d'Ivoire
, Eritrea
, Ethiopia
, Gambia, Ghana
, Israel
, Kenya
, Madagascar
, Malawi
, Mali
, Mauritius
, Mozambique
, Niger
, Nigeria
, Rwanda
, Saint Helena
, Senegal
, Sierra Leone
, Somalia
, South Africa, Sudan
, Swaziland
, Tanzania
, Togo
, Uganda
, Zambia
, and Zimbabwe
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
in the Tortricidae
Tortricidae
Tortricidae is a family of moths, commonly known as tortrix moths, in the order Lepidoptera. Tortricidae is a large family with over 9,400 species described, and is the sole member of the superfamily Tortricoidea. Many of these are economically important pests. Olethreutidae is a junior synonym...
family under the order of Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
. Larvae
Larvae
In Roman mythology, lemures were shades or spirits of the restless or malignant dead, and are probably cognate with an extended sense of larvae as disturbing or frightening...
of the moth feed on a wide range of crops from cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
and macadamia
Macadamia
Macadamia is a genus of nine species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, with a disjunct distribution native to eastern Australia , New Caledonia and Sulawesi in Indonesia ....
nuts to citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
. The larvae have a less selective diet than the Codling moth
Codling moth
The codling moth is a member of the Lepidopteran family Tortricidae. They are known as an agricultural pest, their larva being the common apple worm or maggot. It is native to Europe and was introduced to North America, where it has become one of the regular pests of apple orchards. It is found...
, which feeds primarily on temperate fruit crops.
The moth is believed to have originated in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
. Outside of Africa the False codling moth has had limited success in establishing itself; however, this insect has been detected in Europe and the United States. From 1984 to 2008, there have been 1500 interceptions of the moth on 99 plant taxa at 34 different ports of entry in the United States.
The False codling moth is adapted for warm climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
survival. Temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius impede development and reduce survival rates. Below 1 degree Celsius, all stages of the life cycle are terminated resulting in death. The species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
is prone to alternate-year infestation severity. Under ideal conditions (warm and humid) up to five generations a year may be produced.
Egg
FemaleFemale
Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova .- Defining characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...
moths lay their eggs
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
between 5:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. The eggs are deposited on the surface of the host fruit over irregular intervals throughout the female's life. Under ideal conditions (25°C) a single moth can produce up to 800 eggs. Egg incubation is temperature dependent and the period from deposition to hatching ranges from 2 to 22 days. Higher temperatures correlate to quicker developmental rates. Eggs are ovoid in shape with a granulated surface. They have a cream to white color when first laid that changes to a reddish color as development progresses. Sizes vary around 0.77 mm in length, 0.60 mm in width, and 1 mm in diameter.
Larva
Once hatched from the eggs the larvaeLarvae
In Roman mythology, lemures were shades or spirits of the restless or malignant dead, and are probably cognate with an extended sense of larvae as disturbing or frightening...
burrow a 1 mm diameter hole into the host fruit. A discoloration appears at the wound site. Once the larvae are inside the pulp they begin to feed. Young larvae feed on the outer portion while older specimens move further into the interior of the fruit. Only a few larvae may survive per a fruit. This stage lasts from 12 to 67 days depending on weather conditions. Upon maturity the larvae exit the fruit and drop to the ground on silken threads. Initially, on emergence from the egg, the larvae are only 1 mm and spotted. By the time of emergence from the fruit the larva have grown to roughly 15 mm and have developed an orange and pink color.
Pupa
In the pupaPupa
A pupa is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation. The pupal stage is found only in holometabolous insects, those that undergo a complete metamorphosis, going through four life stages; embryo, larva, pupa and imago...
stage the False codling moth larvae spin a cream colored cocoon in the soil. Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops after birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation...
then occurs. The length of this stage is both temperature and gender regulated. Warmer periods are conducive to a quick emergence, while cooler temperatures render the process to a slower rate. Male moths require between 13 and 47 days to reach maturity and females need between 11 and 39 days.
Adult
The final adult stage of the moth occurs when the winged insectInsect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
emerges from its cocoon. The moths are inactive during the day and are only active during portions of the night, isolated to within several hundred meters of their birth. Males may live between 14 and 57 days, where as females will live between 16 and 70 days. Adults have patterned 1.25 to 2 cm wings with a variation of colors: grey, brown, black, and orange-brown. A female's hind-wing is slightly larger than a male's.
The False Codling Moth within the citrus industry
All stages of fruit development of citrus are susceptible to a False codling moth infestation. Eggs are laid on the surface of the fruit. After emerging from the egg the larvae burrow into the rindPeel (fruit)
Peel, also known as rind or skin, is the outer protective layer of a fruit or vegetable which could be peeled off. The rind is usually the botanical exocarp, but the term exocarp does also include the hard cases of nuts, which are not named peels since they are not peeled off by hand or peeler, but...
. In citrus such as oranges the skin around the point of penetration develops a brown discoloration. The bored hole itself will also show signs of stress, excreting a brown substance. Often fruits afflicted early in development prematurely drop. Infestations late in the season may result in the harvest
Harvest
Harvest is the process of gathering mature crops from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper...
and packaging of infected fruits if undetected. Once the fruits outer surface has been compromised the incidence of disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
and mold
Mold
Molds are fungi that grow in the form of multicellular filaments called hyphae. Molds are not considered to be microbes but microscopic fungi that grow as single cells called yeasts...
increases. The open cavity is a point of entry for other pests and pathogens.
Impact
The False codling moth presents a problem to the citrus industry. The young larvae that hatch from the eggs laid on the citrus burrow directly into the fruits. Once the fruit has been penetrated it is no longer a marketable item. A USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) figure estimates crop yield losses as high as 20 percent in some cases. The establishment of a False Codling Moth population results in increased pesticidePesticide
Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.A pesticide may be a chemical unicycle, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest...
usage.
Management
Prevention is the preferred practice when dealing with the False Codling Moth. Inspections of imported and exported goods prevent the spread of the moth. There are several means to deal with an infestation and new developments are on the cusp of implementation.A 1921 bulletin on the False codling moth produced by the South African government outlines measures on how to deal with an infestation. It discredits banding the trees with nets as an effective practice and promotes destroying all natural fruit trees near the orchard
Orchard
An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...
, collecting and destroying all fallen fruits, spraying arsenate of lead, and flooding the orchard during the winter months. Later, increased knowledge of the harmful affects of lead to humans ended the practice of spraying acetate of lead.
One of the more common pesticides in use is benzyl-urea. However, in some locations the False codling moth has developed some resistance. Other tactics for managing the moth use the power of attraction. Mercury vapor light traps and pheromonal traps are used lure the adults where they can be captured. There have been incidences of quarantining a section of an infected orchard.
A team at Rhodes University
Rhodes University
Rhodes University is a public research university located in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, established in 1904. It is the province’s oldest university, and is one of the four universities in the province...
in South Africa is in the process of developing a virus
Virus
A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
that attacks the False codling moth. The insect-pathogenic virus is known as Cryptophlebia leucotreta granulovirus (CLGV) and lives in the digestive tract of the moth. An infection results in a reduction in appetite
Appetite
The appetite is the desire to eat food, felt as hunger. Appetite exists in all higher life-forms, and serves to regulate adequate energy intake to maintain metabolic needs. It is regulated by a close interplay between the digestive tract, adipose tissue and the brain. Decreased desire to eat is...
and eventual death. The pathogen
Pathogen
A pathogen gignomai "I give birth to") or infectious agent — colloquially, a germ — is a microbe or microorganism such as a virus, bacterium, prion, or fungus that causes disease in its animal or plant host...
is also capable of mutations and will be able to withstand possible resistance the moths may develop to the virus.
Areas of incidence
The False codling moth is well established in Africa and is commonly spread by the transport of produce carrying the insect. The following locations are were the moth is known to occur; AngolaAngola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
, Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
, Burundi
Burundi
Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
, Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
, Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
, Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
, Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
, Congo Democratic Republic, Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
, Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, Gambia, Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
, Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
, Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
, Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
, Saint Helena
Saint Helena
Saint Helena , named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha...
, Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, South Africa, Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, Swaziland
Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, Togo
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
, and Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...