Cacao (cocoa bean); Cotton; Peach, Nectarine; Sorghum

Not known to transmit any human or animal pathogens.

Not known to vector any pathogens or other associated organisms.

Place traps where moths are likely to be active and in a way that allows moths easy access to the trap. Place traps in the middle third of the canopy, 5-6 feet high for small to medium-sized trees and 8-10 feet high for trees with canopy heights of 14 feet or greater (see Gut et al., 2009 in the References section below). For shorter-stature crops, hang traps from stakes or other structures at or slightly above canopy height.

The lure should be replaced every 4 weeks and traps should be monitored every week.

Visual surveys are not an approved method but may be used to detect larval populations before adults emerge.

The approved trap and lure combination must be used to detect adult populations and successfully report negative data.

There are no typical signs of adult moths, which are the target for the survey.

However, surveyors may observe signs of larval damage. Larvae of the yellow peach moth cause extensive damage by creating holes in stems, shoots, buds, fruits, and seeds and depositing dark brown frass on plant tissues. Place traps near suspected damage to capture adult moths for identification.

Note: Larvae are not submissible for identification. If suspect larvae are found, deploys traps nearby to capture adults. Identification of captured larvae is possible using the key found in the References section, but adult capture is necessary for confirmation.

A Climate suitability map is now available. This survey should only be considered in the states with appropriate climate conditions and suitable hosts for this insect.

The map was produced by the SAFARIS Team. SAFARIS is a modeling framework that enables PPQ to quickly respond to emergencies, efficiently survey for pests, and assess potential pest impacts by collecting critical geospatial data and developing predictive models. SAFARIS is developed and maintained by the NC State University, Center for Integrated Pest Management (CIPM) with support from PPQ PPRA.

Surveys should begin before the start of flight periods and should be inspected for moth catches weekly when adult moths are expected to fly. For temperate areas of the United States, this likely means trapping starts in May/June and continues through Aug/Sept based on trapping in Japan. In warmer areas, monitoring may need to occur year-round.

Survey in susceptible hosts:

Orchards: chestnut, peach, plum, apple, grape, citrus (lemon, orange)

Field crops: cotton, sunflower, sorghum, corn

Tropical fruits: guava, longan

Other: eggplant, turmeric, castor bean, cocoa, ginger

The approved method for this species is morphological. Final identification requires dissection of adult male genitalia.

A screening aid for adults is available on the CAPS Resource and Collaboration website, https://caps.ceris.purdue.edu/screening-aids.

Inoue and Yamanaka (2006) also provide an identification key for adults and dissections.

Identification Technology Program (ITP) Search IDaids has additional identification tools: https://idtools.net/idAids/index.cfm.

Multiple, yellow-colored moths within the subfamily Spilomelinae are present in North America and could be confused with C. punctiferalis:

Polygrammodes flavidalis and P. oxydalis (found in eastern U.S.) are similar in color but have indistinct dashes rather than dark wing spots.
Polygrammodes elevata (found in southern Florida) has similar wing spots, but the spots are generally smaller and purple in color.
Phaedropsis stictigramma (found in central to southern Florida) males have dark scales on abdominal segment 8 but lack black spotting on the abdominal segments and the wings are deeper yellow, more sparsely spotted, and have a black outer margin.
Asturodes fimbriauralis (Guenée) (present in southern Florida) are generally similar, but are darker yellow with darker brown wing spots, and a shiny, silver line on the outer margin.