This page is about the moth. If you are looking for the page concerning aerial spraying to reduce the moth population in California, see Light Brown Apple Moth Spraying.

The light brown apple moth (Epiphyas postvittana) (LBAM) is a Non-Native Species in the area. The light brown apple moth is a native insect of Australia. The California Department of Food and Agriculture have designated it a "class A pest", considering the external and internal damage it can cause to vegetation of many types, including many major agricultural products. Some of the damage it can cause, like superficial, cork-like scarring of some fruit skins, does not affect its edibility so much as its market worth, through the consumer desire for high-quality produce, as well as the stigma imposed against the transport of LBAM "infected" produce.

In May of 2007, two quarantines were issued for agricultural products — a Federal quarantine, which restricts interstate transport of agricultural items, and a State quarantine, which restricts inter-county or intrastate transport of agricultural items. These quarantines affect any counties where the light brown apple moth has been found, including Santa Cruz County. Additionally, Canada and Mexico have recently imposed trade bans on agricultural items coming from the quarantine-affected counties. Thus, the LBAM has the potential to depress and devastate local agricultural industries, as well as natural features in the area. The threat of the LBAM has moved state legislators to issue spraying of pheromones to help eradicate the moth via disruption of the moth mating cycle.

Related Links

This entry is a seed - a starting point for writing a full entry. You can help the Santa Cruz Wiki by expanding it! Simply click on the "Edit" button.

 

Add tags