American Plum Borer (Euzophera semifuneralis)Latin Name: Euzophera semifuneralis
Common Name: American Plum Borer
Appearance:
The American plum borer, Euzophera semifuneralis, is a Pyralidae family moth.
The adult moth is grey with brown and black patterns on its wings with a wing span of 0.75 to 1 inch (19–25 mm).
Adult females deposit their eggs near callous tissue, such as pruning wounds, crown galls, and scaffold crotches.
Larvae eat vascular tissue by boring into the tree. Mature caterpillars are around 1 inch long and dusky white or pinkish.
The American plum borer spends the winter in a protective cocoon made in a safe area on the tree and pupates in the spring. Every year, there are three to four generations.
Host plants:
The American plum borer attacks ornamental plums, cherries, and maples on an irregular basis. It also infects black knot fungus galls on wild cherry trees and galls on a variety of other hardwoods. The caterpillars’ extensive boring can destroy wood that woodturners might otherwise utilize.
Territory:
Eastern North America’s fruit-growing states and provinces.
Damage caused by American Plum Borer:
Plum, cherry, and apple are among the fruits that are attacked. Larvae feed in the cambium layer of the trunk or scaffolds, where they can only get through holes caused by mechanical damage, illness, sunscald, winter harm, and other factors. Girdling can develop because they feed horizontally, and dry circumstances exacerbate feeding effects.
Life history and Habits:
Females deposit small pink to white eggs on the bark, and tiny young caterpillars wander around, seeking a way to bore through the bark after hatching. The caterpillars of American plum borers range in color from green to pink to nearly purple and grow to be approximately an inch long. The head has a deep brown color. Wounds, cankers, and rough places in the bark are common targets for these borers. Mature caterpillars spin a white cocoon inside, of which they molt into a half-inch long fusiform brown pupa.
