Interesting facts about the plum curler
The plum moth, zoologically Grapholita funebrana, is a moth that nestles on fruit trees like
- Apricots
- Sour cherries
- Pears
- or just plums
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has specialized. The adult butterfly has elongated triangular wings with a gray-brown pattern.
For reproduction, the female lays her eggs on the underside of the fruit in late spring. From there, the hatching caterpillars dig into the fruit and feed on it inside.
Two generations develop over the season because some of the caterpillars take a break in development in the meantime. For the metamorphosis to the butterfly, they pupate in white webs on the tree or on the ground.
Damage image
The fruits ripen prematurely due to the infestation and fall off. A colorless droplet usually hangs on the underside where the caterpillar has bored.
How to get rid of the plum curler?
Remove infected fruit
The best way to combat an acute infestation is to remove all of the infested fruits as far as possible Thoroughly dispose of - that is, all the windfalls and those still hanging with the typical drill hole Fruit.
Pheromone traps
In spring around the mating season (May / June) pheromone traps can help. They attract the males with a sexual odor and capture them so that fewer females can be mated.
Catch belt
A catch belt is a fairly effective method of containing new generations of plum moth in the following year. Catch belts, which are offered by various manufacturers in specialist gardening shops, work in their purest form mechanical: from June they are simply wrapped around the trunk at a height of 20-40 cm and serve there as a Caterpillar collector. The pre-developed caterpillars take care of the pupation from the ground Tree trunk to crawl up - you will find ideal conditions for this in the catch belt. If you search the belt about every two months, you can catch a large part of the caterpillars and destroy them.
Parasitic wasps
Using natural pests is one of the most natural methods of pest control. Against plum moth are Parasitic wasps(€ 69.90 at Amazon *) suitable opponents. They are exposed 2-3 times a year from June onwards via cardboard cards. A parasitic wasp can parasitize up to 120 plum wrap eggs.
