Cydia nigricana

{{Short description|Pea moth}} {{Italic title}} {{Speciesbox | name = Pea moth | image =Cydia nigricana, Deeside, North Wales, July 2011 (19496262769).jpg | image_caption = ''Cydia nigricana'', Deeside, North Wales | genus = Cydia | species = nigricana | authority = (Fabricius, 1794) | synonyms = *''Pyralis nigricana'' Fabricius, 1794 *''Cydia nigricana asiatica'' Kuznetzov, in Danilevsky & Kuznetsov, 1968 *''Enarmonia dandana'' Kearfott, 1907 *''Laspeyresia novimundi'' Heinrich, 1920 *''Endopisa pisana'' Guenee, 1845 *''Tortrix proximana'' Haworth, [1811] *''Enarmonia ratifera'' Meyrick, 1912 *''Laspeyresia rativera'' Kuznetzov, in Danilevsky & Kuznetsov, 1968 *''Phalaena rusticella'' Clerck, 1759 *''Endopisa tenebricosana'' Guenee, 1845 *''Endopisa viciana'' Guenee, 1845 }}

'''''Cydia nigricana''''', the '''pea moth''', is a moth of the family Tortricidae. It is found in Europe.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.agroatlas.ru/en/content/pests/Laspeyresia_nigricana/|title=AgroAtlas - Pests - Laspeyresia nigricana Fabricius - Pea moth|website=www.agroatlas.ru|access-date=2016-06-16}}</ref>

==Description== It is a small (15 mm wingspan), grey-brown moth whose larvae (caterpillars) feed in the pods of garden peas.<ref name="RHS">{{cite web |title=Pea moth / RHS Gardening |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity/pea-moth |website=www.rhs.org.uk |access-date=15 July 2022 |language=en-gb}}</ref> They have a long antennae (compared to the body size), and brownish grey wings with white and yellow spots in herringbone pattern on the edge.<ref name="pnw">{{cite web |title=Pea, green and dry-Pea moth |url=https://pnwhandbooks.org/insect/vegetable/vegetable-pests/hosts-pests/pea-green-dry-pea-moth |website=Pacific Northwest Pest Management Handbooks |access-date=15 July 2022 |language=en |date=22 October 2015}}</ref>

The pupa is dark brown and about 7.8 mm long with rows of spines. Host plants include peas, vetch, clover, and lentils.<ref name="pnw"/>

They have small yellow white,<ref name="pnw"/> or creamy white caterpillars, up to 14 mm long, during late June to August. They feed inside pea pods but the damage to the peas can sometimes only be found when the pods are harvested.<ref name="RHS"/> 1 or 2 of the caterpillars may be found in a single pod and within each pod, only 1 or 2 individual peas may be partially eaten and the attacked pods may develop a yellow appearance and can ripen early.<ref name="bayer">{{cite web |last1=CropScience |first1=Bayer |title=Pea Moth |url=https://cropscience.bayer.co.uk/threats/pest-and-slugs/pea-moth/ |website=Bayer Crop Science UK |access-date=15 July 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

==Life-cycle== The adult moths emerge from cocoons buried in the soil just below the surface,<ref name="pnw"/> from early June onwards and after feeding on the (pea) plant flowers,<ref name="bayer"/> the females then lays her 1–3,<ref name="pnw"/> eggs on the pea plant. On the undersides of the leaves, petioles (stalks of the leaves), stems and also on flowers. The eggs are less than 1 mm (in size) and flat on one side. After about 7–10 days,<ref name="bayer"/> or 1 to 3 weeks, depending on the temperature,<ref name="pnw"/> the caterpillars hatch from the eggs and then emerging larvae go through a very short wandering stage (1 day),<ref name="pnw"/> before burrowing into the pods to feed on the developing peas, for periods of up to a month. The caterpillars grow by a series of moults and then when mature, the caterpillars eat their way out of the pods, usually in August.<ref name="bayer"/> Larval development lasts 18 to 30 days,<ref name="pnw"/> and then larvae migrate to the ground to overwinter in the soil,<ref name="bayer"/> spinning a cocoon containing particles of soil and hibernating inside.<ref name="pnw"/>

==Pest monitoring and control== In the UK, insect netting is used as a preventative,<ref name="RHS"/> or pheromone traps are used to monitor pea moth problems. It is advised to wait up to 10 to 15 days from the beginning of sustained moth catches until application of insecticide, to allow egg laying and hatching to take place.<ref name="pnw"/> The RHS recommends not using pesticides as the damage to other beneficial pollinating insects is increased.<ref name="RHS"/> Other control methods include using quick-maturing cultivars (disrupting the moth life cycle) or growing mange-tout types of pea, in which the pods are eaten before the pea is grown.<ref name="RHS"/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons}} * [http://webh01.ua.ac.be/vve/Checklists/Lepidoptera/Tortricidae/Cnigricana.htm Lepidoptera of Belgium] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070603050009/http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=1679 Pea moth at UKmoths] thumb|Photo of Pea Moth caterpillar inside Pea Pod thumb|alt=Pea moth caterpillar pupa|Pea moth caterpillar pupa

Category:Grapholitini Category:Moths described in 1794 Category:Moths of Japan Category:Lepidoptera of Turkey