Delta Trap

Host Plants

Citrus, pomegranate, persimmon, apricot, peach, fig

Adults are usually 2/3 the size of a housefly. The general color of the body is tawny. The wings are broad with black and pale brownish stripes.

Type of Damage

The larvae feed on the fleshy part of the host fruits and cause softening and collapse in the fruit. Infected fruits prematurely ripen and fall.

Monitoring

Overwintering adults emerge in late spring and early summer. They mate and lay eggs on days when the temperature is over 16°C.  In the Aegean region, it can produce 4-5 generations per year, and in the Mediterranean region 7-8 generations per year. 3 traps/ha should be set after the trees have bloomed.

Mass Catch

The pest can give more than one offspring in a year. Therefore, when a population increase is detected in the monitoring traps, the traps are hung at 15-20 m intervals to fight. The times a population increased; for citrus in September-October, for pomegranate in September, especially before maturation of Satsuma mandarins and pomegranate cultivars, which are the earliest cultivars.