Citrus Entomology Home

Citrus Peelminer Events:  Citrus peelminer became a serious problem in San Joaquin Valley citrus (especially the Lindsay/Strathmore area) during the 2000 field season.   In the past it attacked primarily grapefruit in Kern County located next to alternate hosts such as oleander and willows and it generally affected <5% of fruit.  In 2000, this pest began to act differently.  First, citrus peelminer, was found in all varieties of citrus throughout the San Joaquin Valley. Thus, its host range has greatly expanded. Second, while most orchards sustained <3% damage, some orchards sustained upwards of 70% infested fruit, especially pummelos, grapefruit, and Fukumoto oranges. It is also now attacking cotton, walnuts, plums, bell peppers, avocados and grapes.  Why did this beast change it's habits?  After the freeze of 1998, bulk citrus arrived from Mexico in local packing houses and it was infested with peelminer.  Molecular biologists at UC Riverside have determined that the Tulare strain is more closely related to the Mexican strain than the Coachella strain.  This suggests that we have imported a different strain of peelminer into the San Joaquin Valley. 

Links to moth flights, larva counts, and degree-day predictions

Peelminer Reporting 
Click on this site to see where peelminer activity has been found in the Central Valley.
Use this site to enter the moth counts from the pheromone trap or the counts of infested fruit data collected from your orchard.

Degree-Day Accumulations
Click on this site to see when moth flights are likely to occur during the 2009 field season.

Pheromone Trap Catches in the San Joaquin Valley (2005)
Click here to see what levels of moth catches various growers and PCAs are finding in their traps.

Percent Fruit Damage 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
Click here to see what levels of fruit damage caused by citrus peelminer occurred in the San Joaquin Valley.

Links to General Information about Citrus Peelminer:

New! Publication Describing the Citrus Peelminer Lifecycle:

Citrus Leafminer and Citrus Peelminer ANR publication #8321. A color brochure that describes the both the citrus leafminer and citrus peelminer and the damage they cause. 

You can search for other University of California ANR publications using this web site:
http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu

To view PDF files, a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader must be installed. 
            To get a free copy, click here

Peelminer Crop Host List

Pesticide Trials (2001)

Parasite Releases (2001-2003) and Compatibility of Pesticides with Parasites

Link to CA Dept. of Food and Ag Citrus Leafminer and Peelminer fact sheets