Seasonal fluctuations of goat moth (Cossus cossus L.) in chestnut orchards in İzmir and Manisa, Turkey

Abstract

Goat moth, Cossus cossus L. (Lepidoptera: Cossidae), is a polyphagous pest of many fruit trees, poplar, park, and garden trees. Despite being known as secondary pest, goat moth density has recently increased in chestnut orchards in Turkey. Controlling this pest is very hard because larvae live inside trunks and branches and periods of moth flight and oviposition are very long. Intensive, direct spraying of chemical insecticides against these pests is extremely difficult, hence alternative control methods are needed. This study was conducted to provide data on alternative control methods such as adult mass trapping in chestnut groves. The study was carried out during the moth’s flight period in 2013 and 2014 in the towns of Beydağ, Ödemiş and Kemalpaşa in İzmir Province and Turgutlu in Manisa Province. Trapping equipment supplied by Trécé, Inc. was used to capture adult moths. Traps were suspended from branches near the trunk 1.5-2 m above the ground. Traps were checked weekly and moths were removed and counted from mid-May to late September. The results show that C. cossus adults began to appear in late May. The flying period of adults continued until early September. Maximum adult emergence was between mid-July and mid-August. Population density and damage ratio were higher in the orchards infected with Cryphonectria parasitica Murr. Larvae in different stages were observed under the bark and inside trunks. © 2018 International Society for Horticultural Science. All Rights Reserved.