Apple brown tortrix

Pandemis heparana

1. Identification

• Common name: Brown apple moth
• Scientific name: Pandemis heparana Denis & Schiffermüller
• Order: Lepidoptera
• Family: Tortricidae

2. Pest description

• Greenish-brown caterpillars, very mobile, which roll up leaves with silken threads.
• Adults with brown forewings with variable patterns and pale hindwings.
• Attacks leaves, shoots, flowers and young fruits.
• Polyphagous species, common in pome fruits, stone fruits and ornamentals.

3. Main hosts

• Apple tree.
• Pear tree.
• Plum tree.
• Peach tree.
• Grapevine.
• Various ornamentals and fruit trees.

4. Symptoms and damage

• Leaves rolled up and bound together by silken threads.
• Perforations and consumption of the leaf blade.
• Damage to flowers and young fruits.
• Flower drop and reduced fruit set.
• Yield losses and reduced fruit quality.

5. Biological cycle

• One generation per year in most regions.
• Eggs laid in batches on trunks and branches in summer.
• Caterpillars overwinter in the first instar.
• They resume activity in spring, feeding on leaves and shoots.
• Pupation inside rolled-up leaves.
• Adults emerge in late spring and early summer.

6. Monitoring

• Observation of rolled-up leaves and presence of caterpillars.
• Checking for damage to flowers and young fruits.
• Monitoring with pheromone traps for flight detection.
• Assessment of attack intensity throughout the vegetative cycle.

7. Management measures

• Cultural: removal of attacked leaves and shoots, destruction of crop residues and improvement of canopy ventilation.
• Biological: use of Bacillus thuringiensis on young caterpillars and conservation of natural enemies.
• Integrated protection: monitoring with pheromones, interventions only when justified and judicious application of authorised insecticides.

Bibliographic references

• EPPO Global Database – Pandemis heparana.
• CABI Invasive Species Compendium – P. heparana.
• Ioriatti, C., & Lucchi, A. (2016). Semiochemical strategies for tortricid control in fruit crops. Journal of Pest Science.
• Witzgall, P., Kirsch, P., & Cork, A. (2010). Sex pheromones and their impact in pest management. Journal of Chemical Ecology.
• Alford, D. (2007). Pest management in fruit crops.