Pectinophora Malvella

Pectinophora Malvella

 

a moth of the family Gelechiidae, which is injurious to wild and cultivated plants of the family Malvaceae. It measures 6-8 mm long and has a wing-spread of 12-14 mm. The moth is found in Europe, Asia, and Africa. It is widely distributed in the USSR, severely damaging cotton in Nakhichevan’ ASSR. The pink bollworm, which is closely related to Pectinophora malvella, is an object of quarantine. There are one or two (sometimes three) generations per year. The caterpillars eat the ovaries in the buds and flowers, as well as the seeds in the bolls. The damaged organs fall off or develop deformed. Control measures include deep autumn plowing and presowing processing of the soil, chopping the cotton and removing and burying the tops of the plants that have deposits of eggs, and treating the cotton with insecticides.