This document provides information on insect pests that affect apple trees, including their taxonomy, climate and soil requirements, and life cycles. It discusses several major pests in depth: the European red mite, its life cycle and means of control using dormant oils and miticides; the woolly aphid, its gall-forming lifecycle and use of insecticides and natural predators for control; and the codling moth, its damaging larval stage within apples and use of bagging, biological controls, and insecticides for management. Other pests summarized include the apple stem borer, its boring damage and control through pruning; and the plum curculio, its crescent-shaped egg-laying wounds and monitoring

1. Insect Pests of
Apple
Prepared by
Moin Qureshi

2. Taxonomy in Apple
• B.N:-Malus domestica
• Family:-Rosaceae
• Sub-family:-maloideae
• 2n=34(x=17)
• Major sugar found sorbitol
• Flower colour:-white to pink
• Type of fruit-pome

3. Climate & Soil
• MSL: 1500-2700m
• Temp: 21-24 Centigrade, fruit setting is 21.1-26.7°C.
• Rainfall:100-125 cm
• Chilling hour:1000-1500 hours of chilling (the no. of
hours during which temperature remains at or
below 7 Centigrade during the winter season)
• Soil pH- 5.5-6.5
• Soil type- Loamy soils, rich inorganic matter.

4. INSECT & MITE PESTS
• Mites
• Aphids
• Borers
• Spring Feeding Caterpillars
• Other Sporadic Insect Pests
• Internal Lepidoptera
• Stinging Insects
• Other Sporadic Insect Pests

5. European Red Mite
• European red mite, Panonychus ulmi, is primarily a
pest of deciduous fruit trees . The main fruit affected
is the apple. Pears and plums are also hosts but less
likely to be damaged. Some varieties have greater
susceptibility, for example, Hi-early apples and
Wilson plums.

6. European Red Mite Life Cycle
• Overwintering eggs are found on twigs and small
limbs, especially in the crevices, beginning in the
late summer or fall, throughout the winter, and up
until they hatch in spring. They are about 1/160 inch
(0.15 mm) in diameter.
• There are three immature forms (the larva,
protonymph and deutonymph ). The larva is only
slightly larger than the egg and is an orange-red. It
can be distinguished from other immature stages
by having only three pairs of legs.
• The adult female is about 1/72 inch (0.35 mm) in
length, typically a solid brick red, and is
characterized by her oval shape and strong white
bristles on the back of the abdomen. The bristles,
which have white bases, look like white spots on
the back. The male is a yellowish red tinged with
red. The male is only about 1/80 inch (0.30 mm)
long and is more slender than the female. It has a
tapered abdomen.

7. Eggs of European Red Mite European Red Mite Adult Female
Adult Male European Red Mite
European Red Mite Life Cycle
Eggs are red and laid mostly on the
underside of leaves.

8. • Bronzing on the leaves
• Severe infestations may result in defoliation,
• Prolonged feeding leads to reduced shoot growth
and fruit bud set the following year,
• Fruit colour, soluble solids, firmness, size and weight
of the fruit are also affected.
European Red Mite Danger
Apple Foliage Damage (Bronzing)

9. European Red Mite Control
• Spray a delayed dormant oil when buds are
showing green tissue but before pink bud, to kill
overwintered eggs; preserve predators of mites.
• Monitor motile forms on leaves after fruit set; use
miticides (based on thresholds) or horticultural
mineral oil to reduce numbers during the summer
period.
• A selective pesticide program may allow
biological control by predator mites, glassy-
winged mirid bug.

10. Woolly Aphid
• Woolly aphid :- Eriosoma lanigerum (most devasting disease in
world)
• Common name Woolly aphid also known as American blight
• Caused by A sap-sucking insect (aphid)
• Timing April-October

11. Woolly Aphid
• The aphids themselves are purplish in color surrounded by
white, cottony, thread-like secretions. Woolly apple aphid is a
sucking insect pest that weakens the tree by feeding on limbs
and roots. It gets its name from the woolly appearance of its
colonies.
• Symptoms & Significance:
• Colonies of small brown aphids, covered by white waxy wool
• White, waxy wool on branches, trunk and exposed roots
• Bark pitted
• Honeydew/sooty moulds
• Infest stems, branches
• Conspicuous late spring/early summer
• Cause cankers, which crack open to
infection by secondary pathogens

12. Woolly Aphid Lifecycle
Winged
Adult
Nymph

13. Woolly Aphid Lifecycle
1. Woolly apple aphids overwinter as adults on roots
and aeria
2. By early summer, large numbers of nymphs are
produced. First-instar nymphs migrate up and
down the tree parts of apple trees.
3. Wingless adults have reddish to purple bodies and
are completely covered with woolly white wax.
4. Root colonies cause swollen, nodular masses of gall
tissue to form, stunting the tree.
5. Aerial colonies of woolly apple aphids can cause
burrs on tree limbs

14. Woolly Aphid Lifecycle
2 3
4 5
1

15. Woolly Aphid Lifecycle
Left: first instar aphid. Middle: female carrying one
egg. Right: Male aphid

16. Woolly Aphid Control
• The most important natural enemies are green lacewing
larvae, lady beetle adults and larvae, and syrphid fly
larvae.
• Flowering plants in or on the borders of orchards provide
nectar and pollen, which helps maintain and attract
natural enemies.
• If replanting or starting a new orchard, plant resistant
rootstock.
• The Malling Merton (MM) rootstock series, MM.106 and
MM.111, have been bred to be resistant to WAA,
• WAA are easily controlled with broad-spectrum
insecticides.

17. Woolly Aphid Control
• In order to significantly increase insecticide
efficacy, it is recommended a horticultural oil be
added to the tank mix.
• Without horticultural oil the insecticide has difficulty
penetrating the waxy covering of the colony.

18. Aphis Pomi(Aphis mali)
• Aphis pomi, commonly known as the apple aphid,
or the green apple aphid, is a true bug in the family
Aphididae. It is found on young growth of apple
trees and on other members of the rose family
where it feeds by sucking sap.
• The abdominal dorsum is
pale and usually entirely
membranous, although rarely
a small sclerite or short bar
may occur on the spine
of tergite 5

19. Aphis Pomi Life Cycle
• Eggs are shiny blacked and oval shaped.
• They are generally found on smooth twigs and
water sprouts.
• The green coloured young , called nymphs begin in
hatch from overwintered eggs as soon as shoot
leaves are rapidly expandings .
o The nymph is about 1.5 mm long yellow-green to dark green and oval
shaped, generally found on smooth branches or leaf undersides.
• The adult can be winged and wingless about 3mm
long and bright green.
• The first aphids are produced in spring are generally
female who produce live young asexually.

20. Aphis Pomi Life Cycle
• In addition
they can
complete a
life cycle in
as short as
one week
during the
warm
summer
months.

21. Aphis Pomi Damage
• Aphids feed in colonies
o Usually on the undersides of leaves
o Leaves become deformed and curled
o Wooly aphids feed on bark and roots and can prevent
healing of tree wounds
• It causes most damage in apple orchards in the spring, when
the flower buds are opening.
• Pomi breeds continuously on apple it can reach high densities
in summer and autumn, depositing honeydew which
sometimes causes fruit russet and is a substrate for sooty
moulds.
• Studies have shown that direct feeding reduces chlorophyll
content and photosynthesis of apple leaves (Kaakeh et al.,
1993), with subsequent effects on yield.

22. Aphis Pomi Control
• Aphids are the only pests that need to be controlled,
flonicamid (Mainman) is the preferred choice in
conventional orchards as it is selective and partially
systemic.
• A full approval for spirotetramat (Batavia) on apples for
the control of sucking insect pests will control green
apple aphid, but growers may prefer to reserve its use
for more difficult to control pests such as woolly aphid
and rosy apple aphid
• The presence of the ants is beneficial to the aphids as
the ants deter and remove predators that might feed on
the aphids; these include the larvae of the
midge Aphidoletes aphidimyza and parasitoids which
lay their eggs in the aphid nymphs.

23. Aphis Pomi Control
Aphidoletes Aphidimyza

24. Apple Stem Borer
• Apple Stem Borer (Apriona Cinerea Cheverlot)
destructive stem borer of apple and other fruits.
• Abults beetles 35-50mm long and grey in colour
having long antennae.

25. Apple Stem Borer life Cycle
• Females lays egg inside
cavity on a shoot.
• Grub emerge in 7-8 days
and start feeding by
boring inside the stem.
• Grub lengevity 2 years.
• Grub remains quiescent
during winter and resume
feeding in march.
• Pupation take place
inside a tunnel made in
woody tissue

26. Apple Stem Borer Damage
• Caused by grub and adult , grub more destructive.
• Grub makes a tunnel and reaches close to trunk of
tree.
• Vitality and productivity of plant in greatly impaired.
• Adult feed on bark and have an unusual habit of
cutting more than they consume.

27. Apple Stem Borer Control
• Prune and burn all attacked shoot and branches
during winter
• Insert a cotton wick soaked in petrol or carbon
disulphide or chloroform and sealing then with mud.
• Place paradichlorbenzene 0.5gm inside the holes
and plug them.

28. Codling Moth
• B.N = Cydia pomonella
• The codling moth larva is one of the very
destructive pests introduced from Europe by settlers.
This is the ‘worm in the apple.’ While it can attack
various fruits, it primarily damages apples. This is a
key pest of apples that requires management in
every orchard in Kentucky.

29. Codling Moth Symptoms
• A full-grown adult Codling Moth measures about ½
to ¾ inch long with spotted grey wings with brown
tips which shroud its body. The larvae are white to
light pink colour caterpillar like “worms” with dark
brown heads
• The instar larva is 1/10 inches while a full-grown
larva is ½ to ¾ inches. Trhe larvae stage is followed
by pupating stage, where the larvae creates a
cocoon and pupates through winter

30. Codling Moth Identification

31. Codling Moth Lifecycle
• The Codling Moth is the main pest of apple
• The adult moth is greyish with light grey and copper stripes on
its wings, with a wingspan of 17 mm.
• The females lay eggs on fruit or leaves and the black-headed
yellow larvae attack the fruit immediately upon hatching.
• Each larva burrows into the
fruit, eats for around three
weeks, then leaves the fruit to
overwinter and pupate
elsewhere.
• They mainly feed on the seeds
of the apple.

32. Codling Moth Lifecycle

33. Codling Moth Control
• If left unmanaged, codling moth larva can cause
extensive damage, often infesting 20%-90% of the
fruit. The extensive of the damage is often
dependent on variety and location of the trees.
• Codling moth can be difficult to control if the
population has been allowed to build up over one
or two seasons. It seems more pragmatic to
manage a smaller codling moth population than
suppressing a dense population.

34. Codling Moth Control
• The bagging method has proven effective to be used alone
for higher population, although it could be regarded as time
consuming
• This method should be implemented when the fruit is about ½
to 1 inch in diameter.
• Releasing of the tiny wasp Trichogramma Platneri
implemented with mating disruption or soft pesticides could
be used to manage codling moths as a Biological Control

35. • Insecticides are generally the best method of
control for Codling Moths.
• Because of their location inside the apple, they are
protected from any natural enemies, leaving
biological control out of the control methods.
• Another method for control and sampling, 'trunk
banding', consists of wrapping a corrugated
cardboard strip around the tree trunk.
• Larvae making their way back to the tree to pupate
after the infested fruits are aborted will use bands as
pupation sites
• Bands may then be removed and burned.
Codling Moth Control

36. Codling Moth Control
• Conventional insecticides to control codling moths
include products such as Carbaryl , Imidan, Sevin,
Permethrin and Malathion.
• Moreover, horticulture mineral oil, organic material
such as Spinosad , Entrust and products such as
intrepid and esteem with low toxicity could be
used.

37. Plum Curculio
• Plum curculio (Conotrachelus Nenuphar) is an
economically damaging pest that is regarded as
the most serious pest of stone fruit after codling
moth in eastern North America.
• The Plum curculio is a tiny and infuriating pest of
apple trees
• These mottled
brown and black
beetles are true
weevils that possess
an elongated beak-
like mouth and
rough wing covers

38. Plum Curculio Identification
• A small weevil with a very strong shell
• A huge problem on all pome/stone fruits
• Will ruin every single fruit if not controlled
• Organic control is Surround, a non-toxic clay
powder spray
o Need a constant coating, so re-apply after rains
• Non-organic use pyrethrin (e.g. Triazicide), a poison

39. Plum Curculio Identification
• Plum curculio adults are about 1/4 inch long with a
mottled grayish and brown back that has several
bumps on each side.
• Mature plum curculio larvae are a little larger than
1/4 long, which is slightly longer than adults. They
are white, with no legs, and a small, brown head.
• In May and June, when the plums start to grow,
female curculios make distinct, crescent shaped
oviposition scars on the fruit when they are laying
eggs. The female inserts her egg and then cuts a
small crescent-shaped flap around each egg that it
lays on the fruit.

40. Plum Curculio Life Cycle
• In the spring, adult females seek out
young apples (as well as other fruits)
which will serve as the home for
their deposited eggs.
• Females typically create a small
cavity in the developing fruit’s flesh.
They then deposit an egg inside the
cavity and move on, having
caused a half-moon shaped
wound on the fruit.
• This leaves a series of very small
puncture wounds in the apples,
about one-tenth of an inch in
diameter.

41. Plum Curculio Life Cycle
• Adults feed on the mature apples by piercing the
skin with their beaks. This leaves a series of very small
puncture wounds in the apples, about one-tenth of
an inch in diameter.

42. Plum Curculio Monitoring
• Traps should be placed at the density of one trap
per 5 acres by the pink stage and situated on the
outside of the tree, 6–7 feet above the ground.
• For orchards over 5 acres in size a minimum of 5
pheromone traps is recommended, one on each of
the four sides and one in the middle.
• Traps should be checked daily until the first adult is
caught and then weekly thereafter.
• Fruits should be examined between mid-June and
early July for evidence of larval entry. Examine 25-50
fruits per tree on 5 trees per block.

43. Plum Curculio Control
• The plum curculio is usually more abundant on fruit
trees adjacent to woods, fencerows, and trashy
fields where they overwinter.
• The critical period for controlling plum curculio is
during the first few days of warm weather following
petal fall , when maximum temperatures remain
approximately 70°F
o Adults not active in cool rainy weather below 70°F

44. Plum Curculio Control
• One unorthodox way to kill plum curculios without
insecticides is to shake the trees when the females are
actively laying eggs. Shortly after the first plums show
oviposition scars, place a tarp under the tree and shake
different branches of the tree. Adult curculios will fall off
the tree and play dead. The adults can then be picked
up and killed by hand
• Curculios can also be controlled with insecticides. Sprays
should be timed shortly after the first adult curculios are
detected in the spring. Insecticides that kill plum curculio
adults include spinosad, esfenvalerate, gamma
cyhalothrin and carbaryl. Spinosad is a product often
approved for organic production.

45. Indian Gypsy Moth
• Indian Gypsy Moth (Lymantria obfuscata) are the
pest of apple.
• Female moth dark grey with atrophied wings.
• Males are comparatively active flier.

46. Indian Gypsy Moth
Identification
• Egg masses appear as 1.5 inch (4 cm) tan or buff-colored hairs on
tree trunks, outdoor furniture or the sides buildings.
• Gypsy moth caterpillars change appearance as they grow. Young
caterpillars are black or brown and about ¼ inch (.6 cm) in
length. As they grow, bumps develop along their backs along with
coarse, black hairs. Each of the 11 sections of a developed
caterpillar will have two colored spots, the first five pairs, blue, and
the last six, red. Mature caterpillars can be as long as 2 ½ inches
(6.35 cm).
• Gypsy moths are seen only in mid-summer. Males are grayish brown
and can fly; females are larger, whitish with black marks and cannot
fly.
Female Gypsy Moth
Gypsy Moth Pupae
Male Gypsy Moth

47. Indian Gypsy Moth Life
Cycle
• Female lays a mass of
round, shining and light
grayish brown egg under
the loose bark(june-July)
• Caterpillars 40-50mm long
and clothed in tuft of hairs.
• Larval period 66-100 days.
• Pupation takes place in
ground among fallen
leaves.
• Gypsy moth larvae grow
by molting, five molts for
males and six for females

48. Indian Gypsy Moth Life
Cycle

49. Indian Gypsy Moth Damage
• Caterpillars are gregarious but voracious feeder.
• They eat voraciously on leaves at night time.
• Under heavy infestation entire leaf eaten sparing
only the hard vein.
• Defoliation of host completely results in failure of
fruit formation.
• Feeding occurs in the
“instar” stage or period
between each molt. As
might be expected, a
caterpillar’s appetite
increases with each
molt.

50. Indian Gypsy Moth Control
• Egg mass covered with yellowish hair so easily visible
they should be hunted and destroyed (between
august-March)
• A band of burlap around the tree trunk affords
shelter for larvae in day time these band exmained
frequently and larvae destroyed.
• Remove objects around the outside of the home
that provide shelter for gypsy moth larvae and
pupae, such as flaps of bark, dead tree branches,
dead trees, boxes, cans, or old tires
• Along with chemical application depending on ,
masses, species, health of tree, and location.

51. Indian Gypsy Moth Control
• Egg parasitoid, anastatius kashmiriensis mathur.
• Larval parasitoid, cottesia melanoscela ratzeburg,
Glyptapantelos indiensis Marsh, G. flevicoxis Marsh.
• Pupal parasitoid, brachymera intermedia, B. lasus.
• Spray 700 ml endosulfan 35 EC or 2.0 kg carbaryl 50
WP in 500 litres of water/ha.

52. Apple Maggot(Rhagoletis pomonella)
• A very injurious apple pest in north eastern states
and canada.
• Adults(flies) are black with white bands between
segments on abdomen.
• Wings are marked with oblique black bands.
• Maggots are carrot shaped , white and legless.

53. Apple Maggot Life Cycle
• Eggs are laid just under the skin of fruit.
• Maggot makes a tunnel through the apple when
fully grown leaves the fruit and enter the soil for
pupation.
• Adult emergence occur in mid June.

54. Apple Maggot Life Cycle

55. Apple Maggot Damage

56. Apple Maggot Damage
• Caused by maggot.
• Maggot are called ‘railroad’ because they leave
brown winding trail just under fruit skin.
• Burrowing of maggot sometime reduce apple to
brown rotten mass.
• Premature fall of infested fruits.

57. Apple Maggot Control
• Collection and destruction of all fallen infested fruits.
• Adult monitoring with “sticky red sphere” and
“yellow sticky panel”.
• Use maggot trap bag .
• Spray before egg laying .
Parathon (parathion 50 EC) and Phosmet (imidan 50 WP)

58. Blossoms Thrip
• Blossoms Thrip (thrips flavus Schrank) are winged sucking
rasping insects ranging from 5-12 mm in length. Mainly it
damages the buds and flowers of the apple tree.
• Their slender bodies are shiny pale or black with silver
strips.
• Thrips species feed on a large variety of apple plants by
puncturing them and sucking up the contents. It is very
difficult to predict the damage as it does not occur
every year

59. Blossoms Thrip Life Cycle
• The eggs are kidney-shaped and laid in the flowers or
leaves. The nymphs are pale yellow, thin and wingless,
up to 1 mm long.They begin feeding immediately after
hatching.
• There are two nymph stages. Towards the end of the
second, the nymphs move down the plant to pupate in
soil or in plant litter.
• There are two pupal stages and during this time the
thrips are inactive and do not feed.
• Adults emerge a few days later; they are thin, ranging in
colour from yellow through to light brown, 1.5-2 mm long,
with two feathery wings
• The life cycle varies from nine to more than 40 days in
Australia, depending on temperature

60. Blossoms Thrip Life Cycle
Nymph
Adult

61. Blossoms Thrip Damage
• Nymph and adult feed by rasping the petal, vital
flower parts and leaves.
• Affected leaves and blossoms mat fall prematurely.
• Heavily infected blossom may become distorted
and may open only in one side.
• Unchecked growth of thrips may cause poor fruit
set and thus severe crop loss.
Capped blossoms
caused by apple
blossom weevil
larvae

62. Blossoms Thrip Control
• Clean cultivation and digging of beds in winter can
expose them to natural enemies.
• Thrips predators are adults of (minute pirate bug), (Orius
tristicolor) and larvae of green lace wigs. Thrips predators
are adults of (minute pirate bug), (Orius tristicolor) and
larvae of green lace wigs. They attack thrips in the
growing season of apple and reduces thrips populations.
MINUTE PIRATE BUG
ORIUS TRISTICOLOr

63. Blossoms Thrip Control
• Thrips can be controlled chemically by applying
THIACHLOPRID @ 200ML/ 200 LITRES OF WATER
• Apply 200gms of Thiamethoxam per 200 litres of
water at pink-bud stage.
• To check the population a cluster of flower dipped
in water and then thrips can be counted easily.

64. Tarnished Plant Bug
• The tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris, is a species
of plant-feeding insect in the family Miridae. It has
piercing-sucking mouthparts and has become a
serious pest on small fruits and vegetables in North
America.

65. Tarnished Plant Bug Life
Cycle
• Oviposition is apparently restricted to composite host
plants (non-conifers). Eggs are often deposited in leaf
petioles or at the base of the leaf blade, but the
preferred location varies with the crop attacked.In
conifers, eggs are inserted into flowerlets or blossoms.
Eggs are usually deposited singly, but occasionally more
than one egg will be found in an oviposition site. After
seven to 10 days, ca. 1 mm long, yellowish-green
nymphs emerge and begin feeding. There are five
nymphal stages. The life cycle is completed in three to
four weeks. There are two to three generations per year
Population peaks for adults generally occur in early July,
early August, and early September.

66. Tarnished Plant Bug Life
Cycle

67. Tarnished Plant Bug Damage
• Damaged buds exude clear, and later amber, liquid
ooze.
• Affected buds do not set and subsequently abort.
• Flowers are attacked prior to petal fall abort.
• Fruitlets stung after calyx may fall off the tree during June
drop, those that remain on tree have a dimple or a
deeply sunken conical area at harvest.
• In general, early season damage occurs near
the calyx end; later season damage may be anywhere
on the apple.
• Longitudinal sections cut through the depressions or
dimples show a narrow tube extending to the core (but
not into the core).

68. Tarnished Plant Bug Damage

69. Tarnished Plant Bug Control
• Weed management influences tarnished plant bug
management. Preventing weeds from forming
young buds and flowers will keep populations lower
in the weedy areas.
• When plants are vegetative, low densities can be
tolerated. As plant begin to set buds, chemical
controls may be needed. However, chemicals will
have no effect on the egg stage inside of the plant
tissue.
• In orchards surrounded by alfalfa, if the cutting
coincides with the susceptible plant stages in apple,
tarnished plant bugs will likely migrate into the
orchards.

70. Obliquebanded leafroller
• Obliquebanded leafroller (Choristoneura
rosaceana; OBLR) feeds on several plants in the
Rosaceae family and many other deciduous trees.
• OBLR are tan or brown moths with alternating light
and dark bands on the front wings.
• Females are larger than males, with most adults
ranging from 1/3 to 1/2 inch (9 to 12mm) long with
wingspans of 3/4 to 1 inch (20 to 27mm). Larvae
are 3/4 to 1 inch (20 to 25mm) long, green with black
or brown head capsules.

71. Obliquebanded leafroller
OBLR larva
OBLR adult

72. Obliquebanded leafroller Damage
• Foliage feeding in spring can be severe if OBLR
populations are high, resulting in reduced growth
(particularly in young nonbearing trees). Fruit
feeding is similar to that of redbanded leafroller, but
usually much deeper.

73. Obliquebanded leafroller Life
Cycle
• Eggs are laid on the upper surface of the leaves in
patches (7-14 mm) that contain several hundred eggs
• After hatching, empty egg masses often remain on
leaves and appear white against the dark green leaf.
• Larvae progress through six instars, growing to a final
length of 20-30 mm. The body is coloured light green to
yellowish green to dark green.
• Pupae are a dark reddish brown, and develop in
protected places, often found inside leaves rolled by
the larvae. Length varies from 11-14 mm
• The adult moth is variably coloured, light tan to dark
brown with darker bands on the forewings. The wingspan
of the males ranges from 16-22 mm, and the female
from 24-30 mm.

74. Obliquebanded leafroller Life
Cycle

75. Obliquebanded leafroller
Control
• Pheromone traps should be used to determine
when moths are flying and if numbers are sufficient
to warrant an insecticide application during the
late flight period when eggs begin to hatch.
• Sprays applied for rosy apple aphid during pink
stage can reduce damage caused by
overwintering larvae.
• OBLR has developed resistance to standard
insecticides and may be better controlled by
biological agents.

76. WHITE APPLE LEAFHOPPER
• White apple leafhopper adults are very similar in appearance.
The adults are long and slender, wedge-shaped, with a
convex back. The body is a light yellow with the head slightly
darker.
• Apple trees are probably the only host that white apple
leafhopper overwinters on, but during the growing season it
may also infest peach, plum, cherry and hawthorn.

77. • White apple leafhopper overwinters as an oblong egg about
1 mm in length, inserted beneath the bark and producing
blisters on the twigs.
• Overwintering eggs are most often present on two-year-old
wood, and are also found on wood three to five years of age.
• These eggs begin to hatch prior to bloom, and continue
hatching through petal fall.
• Nymphs develop into adults in early summer. Mating usually
occurs early in the morning and oviposition (egg laying)
follows about 14 days later. Eggs are laid in the petioles,
midribs and large secondary veins on the undersurface of
leaves
• The oviposition period lasts approximately three weeks and
each female can deposit 50-60 eggs. The total lifespan of first
generation adults is five to six weeks
• Second generation nymphs appear in early August and adults
are present from mid to late August, until the first hard frost.
WHITE APPLE LEAFHOPPER
LIFE CYCLE

78. WHITE APPLE LEAFHOPPER
LIFE CYCLE

79. • White apple leafhopper damage causes stippling of the
leaves and fruit spotting. Both nymph and adult white apple
leafhopper insert sucking mouth parts into plant cells to
remove the contents. This feeding leaves pale green or whitish
stipples on the leaf where cells have been damaged.
• white apple leafhopper feed, they deposit excrement on fruit
which dries into dark brown spots. These marks are
unacceptable on apples destined for fresh market sales,
especially cultivars with light-coloured skin.
• white apple leafhopper adults are a nuisance to orchard
workers during summer pruning and harvest operations. When
disturbed, they fly up in clouds into pickers' eyes, ears, noses
and mouths.
• Leafhoppers and other sucking insects can transfer diseases
(such as fire blight) from one plant to another, however the
importance of leafhoppers in the dispersal of this bacterial
disease is unknown.
WHITE APPLE LEAFHOPPER
DANGER

80. WHITE APPLE LEAFHOPPER
DANGER

81. WHITE APPLE LEAFHOPPER
CONTROL
• There are a few parasitoids or predators that attack
white apple leafhopper, but none provide biological
control. Mullein bugs are sometimes observed feeding
on leafhopper nymphs.
• Insecticides are most effective on younger nymphal
stages during the first generation, and second
generation control is not often required. Where late
season populations surpass threshold levels, insecticide
timing can be difficult due to the extended hatch.
• The white apple leafhopper is resistant to
organophosphate insecticides. For recommended
materials, see OMAFRA Publication 360, Fruit Production
Recommendations.

82. Thank You For Your
Attention.