Peach Twig Borer
Anarsia lineatella
Basic Details
Description
Taxonomy
Features
Translations
Basic Details
NamePeach Twig Borer
DescriptionPeach twig borers cause young branch tips to wilt and turn brown (flagging). Identify these dead shoots to prevent larvae from later attacking your fruit harvest.
TypeInsect
FamilyGelechiidae
GenusAnarsia
Taxonomy & Features
PhylumArthropoda
SubphylumHexapoda
ClassInsecta
OrderLepidoptera
SubfamilyDichomeridinae
Features
- Common pest of peaches, nectarines, and almonds. The larvae bore into new, succulent terminal growth and later into the fruit itself
- First-generation larvae emerge in spring and tunnel into the center of young shoots, causing them to wilt, turn brown, and die (flagging)
- Larvae are small (10-12 mm), chocolate-brown caterpillars with alternating light and dark body segments and a dark brown-to-black head
- Fruit damage usually occurs at the stem end or where two fruits touch. Larvae create shallow, gummy holes often filled with frass
- Overwinters as tiny larvae inside small, silk-lined chambers called 'hibernacula' located in the bark of tree crotches and twigs
- Adult moths are small (8 mm), grey with dark mottling, and are difficult to see against tree bark. They have a narrow, fringe-like appearance on their wings
- Can have 3 to 4 generations per year. The first target shoots, while subsequent generations increasingly target the ripening fruit
- Repeated shoot damage on young trees causes them to become stunted and bushy, as the death of terminals forces excessive lateral branching
- Monitor for adult moths using pheromone traps. Pruning out and destroying flagged (wilted) shoot tips in spring is a primary non-chemical control
- Control by applying Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) or spinosad at bloom and again at petal fall to kill young larvae before they bore into the plant
Names in Different Languages
Latin / ScientificAnarsia lineatella
English (Alternate)Flagging borer
Hindiआड़ू की टहनी का छेदक (Aadoo ki tahni ka chhedak)
Tamilபீச் கிளை துளைப்பான் (Peach kilai thulaippaan)
Teluguపీచ్ కొమ్మ పురుగు (Peach komma purugu)
Malayalamപീച്ച് ട്വിഗ് ബോറർ (Pīcc ṭvig bōraṟ)
Kannadaಪೀಚ್ ಕೊಂಬೆ ಕೊರಕ (Pīc kombe koraka)
Sanskritपिच्छ-शाखा-रन्ध्रक (Piccha-śākhā-randhraka)
Bengaliপিচ টুইগ বোরার (Peach twig borer)
Frenchpetite mineuse du pêcher
Russianфруктовая полосатая моль (fruktovaya polosataya mol')
Spanishanarsia, minador de brotes
GermanPfirsichmotte
