Common currant tortrix

Pandemis cerasana

1. Identification

• Common name: Common twisted moth
• Scientific name: Pandemis cerasana Hübner
• Synonym: Pandemis ribeana Hübner
• Order: Lepidoptera
• Family: Tortricidae

2. Pest description

• Caterpillars greenish-yellow in colour, with a brown head and an agile body.
• Adults with brownish forewings bearing irregular patterns; greyish hindwings.
• A leaf-rolling species, common on fruit trees and ornamentals.
• Caterpillars feed on young leaves, flowers and shoots, rolling leaves with silk threads.
• It can cause significant damage in pome and stone fruit orchards.

3. Main hosts

• Apple.
• Pear.
• Plum and other stone fruits.
• Vine.
• Various ornamentals and spontaneous shrubby species.

4. Symptoms and damage

• Leaves rolled and bound together by silk threads.
• Borings and consumption of young leaves.
• Damage to flower buds and tender shoots.
• Superficial borings in young fruits.
• Reduction of vigour and productive potential in heavy attacks.

5. Biological cycle

• Eggs laid in masses on the surface of the leaves.
• Caterpillars emerge in spring and feed on leaves and shoots.
• Pupation occurs inside the rolled leaves.
• Adults emerge in late spring and summer.
• Generally two generations per year, which may vary with the climate.

6. Monitoring

• Direct observation of rolled leaves and caterpillars.
• Inspection of flower buds and shoots in spring.
• Pheromone traps to detect adults and define flight peaks.
• Regular monitoring in orchards from the start of budbreak.

7. Management measures

• Cultural: removal of infested leaves and branches; sanitation pruning; destruction of plant residues.
• Preventive: frequent monitoring in spring; management of alternative hosts.
• Biological: application of Bacillus thuringiensis on young caterpillars; promotion of natural parasitoids.
• Integrated protection: judicious application of authorised insecticides based on thresholds; integration of cultural, biological and chemical measures.

Bibliographic references

• EPPO Global Database – Pandemis cerasana.
• CABI – Invasive Species Compendium – Pandemis cerasana.
• Alford, D. V. (2007). Pest and Disease Management Handbook. Blackwell Publishing.
• Hill, D. S. (1987). Agricultural Insect Pests of the Tropics and their Control. Cambridge University Press.