Southeastern Apple Production
ENTOMOLOGY
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Southeastern Apple ProductionENTOMOLOGY |
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Adult female Comstock mealybugs (CMB) are wingless with oval-shaped, segmented bodies that are covered in white wax. They have 17 pairs of body filaments, with the posterior pair being the longest. Adult males are small and short-lived, and are thus unlikely to be encountered in the field. They have a gnat-like appearance totally unlike the females.
CMB larvae (crawlers) look like female adults except for being smaller with less wax and no long filaments. Eggs are tiny (around 1/100 inch long), bright orange, elliptical, and laid in masses under bark crevices and fruit calyxes.
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| Adult on calyx end of fruit |
Eggs hatch in late spring, and nymphs feed on leaves and shoots until completing development around early July. These adults then lay eggs that hatch in about 11 days, and second generation larvae develop into adults by early fall. These adults lay overwintering eggs and in some cases may overwinter themselves.
CMB infest the calyx ends of fruit, where they secrete honeydew that can cause sooty mold to grow. The black mold may be the only exterior sign of an infestation.
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| Sooty mold in apple calyx ends |
Insect and Mite Management Overview
Insect and Mite Index
Southeastern Apple Production
Mountain
Horticultural Crops Research & Extension
Center
455 Research Drive
Mills River, NC 28759
Phone: 828.684.3562 ~ Fax: 828.684.8715
Email: jim_walgenbach@ncsu.edu
Web Crafters: Anne S. Napier and
Steve Schoof
Email:
steve_schoof@ncsu.edu
Updated March 16, 2007