Olive Moth
Also called the Olive Kernel Borer, Pollila del olivo, Teigne de l'olivier, Tignola dell'olivo. The adult is 6-7 mm long with grey fore wings with silvery tone and small scattered dark spots. Hind wings are of uniform grey with frayed margins. Grey scales with a silvery tones cover the body and legs. Eggs are sub-ovate, flat length 0.5 mm. Immediately after laying eggs are whitish becoming darker later as the embryo grows. They turn yellow if aborted. The larva are generally green in colour with light brown tones, 7-8 mm long. The pupa is enclosed by a whitish lightly built cocoon of silk threads and measures about 6 mm. It is brown, elongate, sub-coniform with tapered distal end.
Biology
In a single year there are typically three generations of the olive moth. Adults emerge from pupae on the leaves or in cracks in the bark in April. The female lays eggs on flower buds which the first generation larvae attack. The insect pupates and hatches into a moth that lays eggs on the emerging fruitlets. Flower damage may be light to moderate.
The 2nd-generation larvae grow inside the olive stone kernels, then eventually pupate. This olive fruit grub is the more troublesome stage. It can cause massive fruit drop and damages the fruit for canning and oil making. Olive Oil affected by the moth will have an oxidized, rancid taste. Olive grubs pupate into adults which lay eggs on leaves.
The 3rd-generation larvae are leaf miners that use silk to roll the leaf into a protective shape. The leaf larvae can live for months during the fall and winter months, with the pupae over wintering on the leaf or bark to start the cycle over.
The moth does not necessarily pass through all three generations if weather or orchard conditions are different. Flower bud larvae may pupate into adults which go directly to the leaves, etc.
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