Cadra Figulilella
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''Cadra figulilella'', the raisin moth, is a
moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...
of the family
Pyralidae The Pyralidae, commonly called pyralid moths, snout moths or grass moths, are a family of Lepidoptera in the ditrysian superfamily Pyraloidea. In many (particularly older) classifications, the grass moths (Crambidae) are included in the Pyr ...
. The raisin moth is known most commonly as a pest that feeds on dried fruits, such as the raisin and date. It covers a range that includes much of the world, primarily situating itself in areas of
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
,
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
, the
Eastern Mediterranean The Eastern Mediterranean is a loosely delimited region comprising the easternmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea, and well as the adjoining land—often defined as the countries around the Levantine Sea. It includes the southern half of Turkey ...
region, and some parts of Africa, Australia, and South America.Phelan, P. L., and T. C. Baker
"Information Transmission during Intra- and Interspecific Courtship In Ephestia Elutella and Cadra Figulilella."
''Journal of Insect Behavior'' 3.5 (1990): 589-602. Web.
Perring, Thomas M., Hamadttu A. F. El-Shafie, and Waqas Wakil
"Carob Moth, Lesser Date Moth, and Raisin Moth."
''Sustainable Pest Management in Date Palm: Current Status and Emerging Challenges'' (2015): 109-67. Web.
The moth prefers to live in a hot, arid climate with little moisture and plentiful harvest for its
larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...
e to feed on. Study of this species is important due to the vast amount of economic damage it causes yearly and worldwide to agriculture crops. Adult raisin moths have a life span of 11–16 days and devote most of their resources to reproduction. Eggs are laid on or near the fruit and larvae immediately begin boring and infesting the fruit.
Fumigation Fumigation is a method of pest control or the removal of harmful microorganisms by completely filling an area with gaseous pesticides, or fumigants, to suffocate or poison the pests within. It is used to control pests in buildings (structural ...
after harvest does not save infested fruits, as the pest has already dug into the fruit and spoiled it. The mating process consists of
pheromone A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavio ...
release by both the male and female moths as well as many other copulatory rituals that function to prevent interspecies mating. Copulation consists of specific head bump technique paired with thrusting behavior. There is also a specific method of curling the
abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...
that distinguishes this moth from the moths of other species.Brady, U. Eugene, and Robert C. Daley
"Identification of a Sex Pheromone from the Female Raisin Moth, Cadra Figulilella1,2."
''Annals of the Entomological Society of America'' 65.6 (1972): 1356-358. Web
This moth also displays migration behavior as well as nocturnal activity. During the start of cold winter months, the larvae of the raisin moth will move from the fruit in which they are enveloped to the top 4 inches of
topsoil Topsoil is the upper layer of soil. It has the highest concentration of organic matter and microorganisms and is where most of the Earth's biological soil activity occurs. Description Topsoil is composed of mineral particles and organic mat ...
. It tends to be most active after 7pm, or around sundown, and then ceases activity by 5am, or before sunrise.


Description

The adults of this moth species are about 1 cm long and have a brown grey complexion. Their wingspan ranges from 14–16 mm. A key element of distinction are its
hindwings Insect wings are adult outgrowths of the insect exoskeleton that enable insects to fly. They are found on the second and third thoracic segments (the mesothorax and metathorax), and the two pairs are often referred to as the forewings and hindwi ...
, which have short fringes. Reproductive structures also serve as an element of differentiation. This moth has an almost straight
uncus The uncus is an anterior extremity of the parahippocampal gyrus. It is separated from the apex of the temporal lobe by a sulcus called the rhinal sulcus. Although superficially continuous with the hippocampal gyrus, the uncus forms morphol ...
and a long thin costal outgrowth and at almost 90° angle. Wing pattern does not serve as a differentiating element in this species as it is very similar to other species of its genus. Their body has six rows of purple-colored dots running horizontally and their head is a reddish-brown color. Eggs are small, round, and slightly yellow-orange and creamy white in color. They tend to turn to a more subtle greenish-grey color as they mature.


Distribution

The raisin moth likely got its name due to being first identified on Muscat raisins in
Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populo ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
in 1928. Its population quickly increased and spread throughout the world, now claiming ubiquity in the
Eastern Mediterranean The Eastern Mediterranean is a loosely delimited region comprising the easternmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea, and well as the adjoining land—often defined as the countries around the Levantine Sea. It includes the southern half of Turkey ...
region,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
,
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
, and some parts of Australia, South America, and Africa. Specifically, the moth is present in regions of optimal breeding temperature and food resources. Since its rise, it first spread to the tropics and later nudged its way into cooler areas by following humans on trade routes.


Habitat

Adult moths will not stay in a region that is below 15 °C or above 36 °C, which are the thresholds for their temperature tolerance. Adults will not fly at a temperature below 13 °C. The raisin moth prefers a climate that has arid, hot, clear, and rainless summers, along with mild winters.Velcheva, N., and A. Atanassov
"Records of Cadra Figulilella (Gregson 1871) (Pyralidae, Lepidoptera) and Contribution to Its Parasitoid Assamlages in Bulgaria."
''Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science'' 21.6 (2015): 1254-256. Web.


Food resources


Caterpillars


Host plant preferences and selection

The raisin moth is a
polyphagous Feeding is the process by which organisms, typically animals, obtain food. Terminology often uses either the suffixes -vore, -vory, or -vorous from Latin ''vorare'', meaning "to devour", or -phage, -phagy, or -phagous from Greek φαγε ...
insect, meaning that it feeds on a large variety of different fruits. The larvae in particular are
herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat n ...
and prefer to feed on dry fruits on the ground or still on the plant. In particular they feed on fallen
figs The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of tree or shrub in the flowering plant family Moraceae, native to the Mediterranean region, together with western and southern Asia. It has been cultivated since ancient times and i ...
, ripe carob pods,
grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...
s, cottonseed cake, cacao beans,
prune A prune is a dried plum, most commonly from the European plum (''Prunus domestica'') tree. Not all plum species or varieties can be dried into prunes. Use of the term ''prune'' for fresh plums is obsolete except when applied to varieties of ...
s,
peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...
es,
apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''. Usually an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...
s,
pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the Family (biology), family Rosaceae, bearing the Pome, po ...
s, and more. In the springtime, they primarily feed on fallen
mulberries ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of 19 species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 subordinate ...
because other host fruits are often scarce. However, they can be found year-round in decaying date fruit.


Adults

During this stage of the moth's life cycle, the moth will mainly consume water. They do not focus much on foraging and instead devote full resources to reproduction. This is possibly due to the very short duration of this stage.Donohoe, Heber C., Perez Simmons, Dwight F. Barnes, George H. Kaloostlan, Charles K. Fisher, and Carl Heinrich
"Biology of the Raisin Moth."
''United States Department of Agriculture Washington D.C.'' Technical Bulletin No. 994 (1949): n. pag. Web.


Life history

Development of one generation lasts 43 days at an optimal temperature of 28 °C.


Egg

The female raisin moth lays her fertilized eggs directly on or near the surface of the fruit of the host plant. The eggs are sticky, but are not glued down. They are laid one by one, or in small batches, and often in a star-shape. After
oviposition The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typica ...
, eggs hatch within 4 days, and approximately 75% of laid eggs will hatch successfully. Eggs are small, round, and slightly yellow-orange and creamy white in color. They tend to turn to a more subtle greenish-grey color as they mature.


Caterpillar

Upon hatching, neonatal larvae, or caterpillars, immediately begin digging into all parts of fruit. Larvae develop continuously throughout the year, living within fruits on the trees or rotting on the ground. Larval development depends on warmth, so development takes longer during winter periods. During cold winter periods, the larvae will stay in topsoil or under the loose bark of host plants and exhibit
diapause In animal dormancy, diapause is the delay in development in response to regular and recurring periods of adverse environmental conditions.Tauber, M.J., Tauber, C.A., Masaki, S. (1986) ''Seasonal Adaptations of Insects''. Oxford University Press It ...
, or a period of suspended development, until warmer temperatures arise.


Pupa

Pupa is the term for the moth in its cocoon phase. Pupae are web-covered and brown. The cocoon is silken and they are usually hidden on the trees or in the upper soil layers near the vine trunks. Pupal development period usually lasts about 10 days, after which the adult moth emerges from the cocoon.


Adult

Male and female moths live on average 11 and 16 days respectively. In the short period in which they are alive, adults lay 3–4 broods. The mean fertility of females is 160 eggs on the second and third nights after leaving the pupal stage and entering the adult stage. After laying her eggs, the female raisin moth does not stay to protect her eggs, instead abandoning them afterwards. The male raisin moth also plays no role in guarding or rearing its young.


Flight habits

The raisin moth has been observed to exhibit
nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...
flight patterns. It tends to be inactive during the day and begin significant activity at 7pm. Activity exponentially increases until it peaks at 8pm, when it then slowly levels off and reaches inactivity at 5am. Activity during this period consists of mating, as the moths do not forage in the adult phase.Barnes, Dwight F., and George H. Kaloostian
"Flight Habits and Seasonal Abundance of Dried-Fruit Insects."
''Journal of Economic Entomology'' 33.1 (1940): 115-19. Web.


Enemies


Predators

Raisin moth larvae face predation from competitors on dropped fruit. The mortality of the moth larvae in dropped fruit is higher in the presence of the
fire ant Fire ants are several species of ants in the genus ''Solenopsis'', which includes over 200 species. ''Solenopsis'' are stinging ants, and most of their common names reflect this, for example, ginger ants and tropical fire ants. Many of the nam ...
''Solenopsis aurea'' and the California harvester ant, '' Pogonomyrmex californicus''.Nay, Justin E., and Thomas M. Perring
"Impact of Ant Predation and Heat on Carob Moth (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) Mortality in California Date Gardens."
''Journal of Economic Entomology'' 98.3 (2005): 725-31. Web.
Both of these ants forage on dropped fruit, but will also consume the moth larvae if it is present.


Parasites

Several
hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typi ...
n
parasitoids In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...
such as ''Venturia canescens'' and '' Habrobracon hebetor'' harm raisin moth larvae. Specifically, '' Habrobracon hebetor'' stings and in effect parasitizes raisin moth larvae during warm winter days when they are located under tree bark. However, this parasitoid will not affect them during warmer seasons or on host plant fruit, so it is not effective as a natural pesticide. However, it can be used to effectively parasitize the larvae during storage.


Mating


Pheromones

Pheromones are chemical substances released into the environment which alter the behavior of other organisms in the same species. In terms of the raisin moth, the female begins the mating process by attracting male moths by releasing pheromones. These pheromones are quite similar to those from other moths in the
Phycitinae The Phycitinae are a subfamily of snout moths (family (biology), family Pyralidae). Even though the Pyralidae subfamilies are all quite diverse, Phycitinae stand out even by standards of their family: with over 600 genera considered valid and mor ...
subfamily, so elaborate courtship rituals are performed to avoid interspecies mating. Male moths also release a species specific pheromone that serves to reduce interspecies mating.


Courting

A male raisin moth finds its way to the female moth by following the pheromone trail left by the female. As the male approaches he will first curl his abdomen such that it reaches over his head. Female will turn to face him depending on direction of approach. After the male curls his abdomen, his abdominal
hair-pencil Hair-pencils and coremata are pheromone signaling structures present in lepidopteran males. Males use hair-pencils in courtship behaviors with females. The pheromones they excrete serve as both aphrodisiacs and tranquilizers to females as well as ...
s are exposed. After this, the female abdomen begins to rise and male and female join at a 30-40 degree angle from the ground. Mating is initiated by a process involving a head bump followed by a thrusting action. The thrusting is fairly accurate, with a 75% success rate on the first try, followed by nearly 100% success rate after the first successful attempt. Females exhibit a post-copulatory behavior that involves performance of a drag walk with the male moth. This consists of her dragging the male moth behind her for some time. These copulatory behaviors serve to avoid courtship by males of different species.Kehat, M., and S. Greenberg
"The Biology and Phenology of Arenipses Sabella Hmps. and Cadra Figulilella (Gregson) (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae) on Dates in Israel."
''Bulletin of Entomological Research'', vol. 58, no. 03, 1969, p. 411., doi:10.1017/s0007485300057175.


Interactions with humans


Pest of crop plants

The raisin moth is classified as a pest throughout the world. It is especially known to cause severe qualitative and quantitative losses of dates. However, its larvae cause severe crop losses to almost all dried and drying fruits, as are specified in its
diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...
. As the larvae feed on the insides of the fruit, it becomes filled with their excrement and fine powdery residue that is produced from the boring process. This leads to the fruit being filled with contaminants, which cannot be removed by post-harvest
fumigation Fumigation is a method of pest control or the removal of harmful microorganisms by completely filling an area with gaseous pesticides, or fumigants, to suffocate or poison the pests within. It is used to control pests in buildings (structural ...
. Infestation can begin as soon as the fruit starts to ripen on the branches. In a study conducted in Iran, it was shown that initial infestation of the date fruit was only about 1.3%, but it peaked to 11.7% in mid-September, just months after initial fruit ripening in April. In the last month of the fruit cycle, in March, it was shown that up to 80% of the fruit was infected. More recent studies have shown that infection rates can be up to 90%.


Deterrents to herbivory

To deter consumption of host plants, frequent application of chemical
insecticide Insecticides are pesticides used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. The major use of insecticides is in agriculture, but they are also used in home and garden settings, i ...
s is often used. Mating disruption through the use of synthetic pheromone mimics is also an effective strategy and a greener alternative to pesticides. A specific pheromone, (Z,E)-9,12-tetradecadienyl acetate, also known as TDA or ZETA, belongs to many species of pyralid moths and is a male attractant. Studies using this pheromone against the raisin moth showed that it greatly confused the male raisin moths and led to a reduction in larvae production. There is also some indication that blue neon light attracts raisin moths, which could potentially be used to deter the moth from laying eggs on fruit during mating season and lead to less larvae infestation in fruits.


References


External links

*
Australian insects

Insects on Dried Fruits
__FORCETOC__ {{Taxonbar, from=Q5016606 Moths described in 1871 Phycitini Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Moths of Africa