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Pest status (Apple Sawfly)

Important pest of apple. Does not attack pear. A similar species, the pear sawfly (Hoplocampa brevis (Klug)) attacks pear, but is local and uncommon in the …

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Varietal susceptibility (Apple Sawfly)

Some desert varieties are highly susceptible notably Charles Ross, Discovery, Ellison’s Orange, James Grieve and Worcester Pearmain. Culinary apples, with the exception of Early Victoria and Edward VII, are of lower susceptibility to …

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Damage (Apple Sawfly)

The egg-laying slit in the side of the flower soon turns brown and this is readily visible as an early sign of infestation. Young larvae tunnel just beneath the surface of the skin of developing fruitlets leaving characteristic ribbon scars. Larvae bite …

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Recognition (Apple Sawfly)

Adult 5.0-5.5 mm long. Body mainly orange with thorax and abdomen black above. Head with a conspicuous black central patch. Wings clear with brown veins. Egg 0.8 mm long and slightly curved; white and translucent. Inserted in the receptacle of flowers and …

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Other pests with which apple sawfly may be confused

Codling moth Codling moth larvae are also found commonly feeding in cavities in the centre of apple fruits. However, codling moth larvae tend to occur later in the season (apple sawfly larvae have vacated fruitlets to pupate in the soil by late June or …

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Monitoring (Apple Sawfly)

Adults White, non-UV reflective sticky traps are attractive to apple sawfly adults and can be used to monitor populations in orchards. Place the traps in orchards at the late green cluster to pink bud growth stage of Cox. Examine the traps at least weekly …

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Forecasting (Apple Sawfly)

The start of the flight of apple sawfly adults can be predicted using a temperature sum of 134 day-degrees above a threshold of 4 degrees C starting from 1 April. Soil temperatures at a depth of 5 cm must be used. Air temperatures are unreliable, though …

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Chemical control (Apple Sawfly)

Chemical control should be applied where a significant risk of infestation has been determined by monitoring and not as a routine. The main means of control is to apply an approved insecticide at or shortly after (within 10 days of) petal fall to coincide …

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