Common Fruit Tree Insects
Peach Tree Borers
Peach tree borers feed in the dambium layer (located right beneath the bark). The area of the trunk at or just below the soil surface seems to be affected most frequently. Borers may attack peaches, cherries, plums, and apricots. Trees may be killed or severely injured as borers girdle the trunks. A gummy secretion containing sawdust and sap at the base of the tree often indicates the presence of borers. Eggs are laid over a long period of time from late July until early September. Large and small borers may be present at the same time. Borers feed until cold weather stops them, but feed again in the spring until fully grown.
Prevent infestations by spraying trunks of trees at soil line with spinosad. Apply in early July, around July 25, and again August 15.
Codling Moth
Codling moth adults emerge from over-wintering pupae in the spring about the time apple trees bloom. A second and third generation may overlap, and moths may be present throughout the growing season. Eggs are laid on the upper surface of leaves or on the fruit. After hatching in about 7 to 14 days small larvae enter the fruit frequently at the flower end and tunnel to the center of the apple feeding on pulp and seeds. After feeding, they chew on an exit hole from which a sawdust like frass exudes. To prevent codling moth damage, spray apple trees every 7 to 10 days from the time the flower petals fall until 2 weeks before harvest. The spray schedule is important because moths are present most of the time from flowering until September. Thorough coverage of fruit is essential for successful control. Another method is to hang red sphere traps that are covered with an insect trap coating. These are available in Mulhall's Garden Shop and should be used from spring until harvest or you can use a codling moth trap. Read and follow all instructions on the label.
Cherry Fruit Fly
Cherry Fruit Fly adults are very similar to apple maggot flies in appearance. Adults emerge from over-wintering pupae in the soil, probably in early to mid-June and are active until late July or early August. Eggs are inserted under the skin of cherries. The maggots feed for about 2 weeks, destroying the fruit, and then drop to the ground and enter the soil.
The red sphere or ball used for Apple Maggot adult monitoring can also be used for cherry Fruit Flies. Place the spheres in trees in late May or early June. Start the spray schedule 5 days after the first fly has been trapped, and repeat every 7 to 10 days until 2 weeks before harvest. Like apple maggots, the adult flies must be killed as a control, after the eggs are deposited is nearly impossible.
Apple Maggots
Apple Maggots are the larval stage of a small fly. The damage is caused by maggots burrowing into the fruit, leaving brown trails that cause deterioration of the fruit. Adults emerge from the pupae, that have over-wintered in the soil, in early to mid-June and may be active through July. Flies deposit eggs under the skin of apples. Egg laying punctures cause the fruit to have a "dimpled" appearance.
It is very important to have insecticide sprays on trees during the egg laying period to kill the flies, because control is almost impossible after the eggs are deposited. Checking for the flight of the first adults can be done with special pheromone traps that are available at Mulhall's. Cover the sphere with a light coating of Tangle Foot and suspend it in the apple tree the first of June. Flies are attracted to the red sphere and become trapped in the sticky substances. Female flies are black with four white cross-bands on the abdomen (about ¼ inch long). The female's wings are clear with black bands, and the wing span is about 3/8 of an inch. Beginning five days after the first flies are trapped, apply malathion every 7 to 10 days until August.
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