Peach Tree Borer,Synanthedon Exitiosa & Lesser Peach Tree Borer,Synanthedon Pictipes

Description

The peach tree borer is a native North American pest that causes serious damage to peach, cherry, plum, nectarine, and apricot. Damage is caused by the larval stage, primarily to younger trees. Larvae tunnel into the roots and lower trunks of the hosts, feeding on the growing tissue and inner bark.
Pheromone traps can be used to monitor adult activity and to determine insecticide application timing. The pheromone traps consist of a lure and a trap. These are ordered separately.

Pest:
Peach Tree Borers
The adult peach tree borer is a clear wing moth with a 1-1/4 inch wingspan. Unlike the majority of moths, these fly during the day and are most active from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The female and male moths differ in appearance. The female is dark, steel blue with one or two wide orange bands around her abdomen. Her front wings are opaque, while the hind ones are clear. The male moth is smaller and more slender. It is also steel blue but has several narrow yellow bands around the abdomen. Both pairs of wings are clear.
Lesser Peach Tree Borers
Adult male and female lesser peach tree borers are similar in appearance and look more like wasps than moths. Unlike most moths, these fly during the day and are most active from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Lesser peach tree borer moths are slender and dark blue with some pale yellow markings, and both pairs of wings are clear, except for the edges and veins that have blue black scales. The antennae of the male are finely tufted. Lesser peach tree borers resemble the male peach tree borer. The second and fourth abdominal segments of the lesser peach tree borer have narrow yellow bands, while the male peach tree borer has 3 to 4 narrow yellow bands on the abdomen.

Timing:
Peach tree borers: July through September.
Lesser peach tree borers: May through September, with peak flight from June through July.

Rate:
As a rule of thumb for pheromone monitoring or baited visual traps: 1 acre or less, use 1 trap; 1 – 10 acres, use 2 – 4 traps; 40 – 100 acres, use 4 – 6 traps; over 100 acres, use 1 trap every 20 acres. This applies to each insect you are trapping. For visual traps without bait, we recommend trap densities of 3 – 6 times greater, as insects have to see the trap for it to be effective.
For mass trapping with pheromones, 1 – 4 traps per acre are recommended. Mass trapping only works for some insects and under certain conditions.