Pear Moth

(Laspeyresia [Carpocapsa] pyrivora), a moth of the family Tortricidae, a pest of pears. The wingspread is 16–21 mm, the color is dark gray with transverse stripes. The caterpillar is 16–18 mm long and white with a light brown head.

In the USSR the pear moth is distributed in the forest-steppe and steppe regions of the European part, in the Caucasus, and in Middle Asia. There is one generation per year. The caterpillars winter in cocoons in the sod or surface layer of the soil. Pupation occurs in May. The moths fly out from the middle of June until the end of July and lay their eggs on the fruits of the pear tree (up to 90 in all). The caterpillars, still in the egg, burrow through the eggshell into the fruit, penetrate the seeds, and feed on the kernels. In August they leave the fruit and enter the soil. Pear moths prefer summer-autumn varieties of pears. The quality of the damaged fruit is drastically diminished, and it rots rapidly. Control measures include autumn or spring redigging of the soil around the trunks, keeping the paths between rows bare fallow, and one or two treatments of the trees with insecticides.