Codling Moth

The codling moth is a small member of the family Tortricidae, the tortrix or leafroller moths, a group characterized by relatively small size and larvae that often bore into or roll plant tissue. Though the adult itself is easily overlooked due to its drab, mottled coloring and small size, it is one of the most widely recognized insects indirectly, since its larva is the source of the well-known 'worm in the apple.'

Originally native to Eurasia, the species has spread with fruit cultivation to become established on nearly every continent where apples and pears are grown, making it one of the most globally distributed agricultural moths. Its close association with pome fruit trees has made it a long-studied subject in orchard entomology.

• Small moth with a wingspan of roughly 15–22 mm.
• Forewings are grey-brown with fine wavy dark lines and a distinctive coppery-bronze patch near the tip, the best field mark for the species.
• Hindwings are a plainer coppery-brown, usually hidden beneath the forewings at rest.
• Rests with wings folded in a bell-like or roof shape typical of tortricid moths.
• The larva, cream-white to pinkish with a brown head, is the far more commonly noticed stage, found tunneling through fruit flesh toward the core.

Found nearly worldwide wherever apple, pear, and related pome fruit trees are cultivated, including orchards, gardens, and areas with wild or ornamental fruit trees. Adults are active mainly at dusk and after dark during the growing season, from spring through late summer, with activity timed closely to fruit tree bloom and fruit development.

Adults are short-lived, nocturnal fliers that do not damage fruit directly, focusing energy on mating and locating suitable trees for egg-laying. Larvae are the damaging stage, tunneling directly into developing fruit and feeding on the flesh and seeds near the core, leaving a visible entry hole often marked by castings. Within the wider food web, the species is preyed upon by various birds and parasitic wasps that target its eggs and larvae, and it is considered a significant fruit-tree pest in orchard settings.

Eggs are laid singly on leaves or developing fruit shortly after bloom, hatching within one to two weeks into larvae that immediately seek out and burrow into fruit. After feeding inside the fruit for several weeks, mature larvae exit to find a sheltered spot such as loose bark, where they spin a silken cocoon to pupate. Depending on climate, there may be one to three generations per year, with the final generation typically overwintering as a fully grown larva within a protective cocoon before pupating and emerging as an adult the following spring.