This caterpillar is the familiar 'apple worm' but also attacks pear, crabapple, and English walnut. Which insect is it?

This caterpillar is the familiar 'apple worm' but also attacks pear, crabapple, and English walnut. Which insect is it?

• A. Codling Moth
• B. San Jose Scale
• C. Plum Curculio
• D. Peach Tree Borer

Answer: (A)

The insect described as the familiar “apple worm” is the larva of the codling moth. This moth is a major pest of apples and also attacks pears, crabapples, and English walnuts because the larvae bore into the fruit and feed inside the flesh and seeds. You can recognize the problem by small entry holes in the fruit often with brown frass at the surface, and the caterpillar inside is pinkish-white with a brown head. The adult codling moth is a small brown moth with coppery markings. Management centers on timing controls to target young larvae and removing infested fruit, with pheromone traps used to monitor activity. The other insects listed aren’t caterpillars that bore into these fruits: San Jose Scale is a stationary scale insect; Plum Curculio is a beetle whose larvae are grubs inside fruit and leave crescent-shaped scars; Peach Tree Borer harms trunks and branches, not fruit inside.

The insect described as the familiar “apple worm” is the larva of the codling moth. This moth is a major pest of apples and also attacks pears, crabapples, and English walnuts because the larvae bore into the fruit and feed inside the flesh and seeds. You can recognize the problem by small entry holes in the fruit often with brown frass at the surface, and the caterpillar inside is pinkish-white with a brown head. The adult codling moth is a small brown moth with coppery markings. Management centers on timing controls to target young larvae and removing infested fruit, with pheromone traps used to monitor activity. The other insects listed aren’t caterpillars that bore into these fruits: San Jose Scale is a stationary scale insect; Plum Curculio is a beetle whose larvae are grubs inside fruit and leave crescent-shaped scars; Peach Tree Borer harms trunks and branches, not fruit inside.