Cherry-bark moth
(Enarmonia formosana)
A fruit tree pest relatively commonly occurring in Europe, it has two generations evolving every year. It is more common on older apricot, cherry and sour cherry trees.
Food plant:
Apricot, peach, cherry, sour cherry, almond
Detriment:
It mainly attacks the older trees. The caterpillar damages the inner bark of the tree, that may cause deterioration in fertility and later the death of the tree. Small, a few millimetres large, pipes and stacks of feces granulate and tissues are visible on the trunk and boughs of the infected trees, mainly around cracks and wounds, and it refers to the larvae of the cherrybark tortrix destroying the inner bark of the tree.
Lifestyle:
It winters as a caterpillar, cocoons in spring, close to the surface of the bark. At hatching the moth pushes out half of the pupa of the bark, the protruding pupa that remains tells us that the pest was there. The swarming of the first generation depends on the year and weather, it usually takes place from the beginning of May until mid-June. The second summer generation swarms from mid-July. The moths lay their eggs one by one on to the surface of the bark.
Recommended protection:
It is recommended to start the protection three weeks of the start of swarming, and 7-10 days of mass swarming. Thoroughly spray the infected boughs and the trunk. At smaller infections traps can capture the pests, so that the population retreats.
Pheromone trap placement:
Trap placement is recommended from the second half of April. Replace the dispensers and the sticky boards before the second swarming.
Check the traps twice a week. Count the number of moths captured in the particular period and note the number. The swarming dynamics are visible from the data and the time of intervention is definable. Should the trap capture too few moths, even at peak swarming time, it refers to low infection. In this case the moths can be captured by placing some further traps in smaller gardens and the population can be controlled without spraying, so that we can preserve our environment.
Empirical swarming curve of the cherry-bark moth in Central-Europe:
The introduced empirical swarming curve was prepared by using data of many years, however the swarming may be different depending on the weather and the microclimate of the arable land, therefore the thorough observation of swarming is also important.