Carpophilus Beetle

Carpophilus davidsoni

Carpophilus beetles (also known as dried fruit beetles) are a pest in fruits, nuts and grains. They attack a wide variety of hosts including almonds, cherries and other stonefruit. There are a number of species of carpophilus beetles. The species most prevalent in New Zealand orchards is Carpophilus davidsoni, which is particularly aggressive in cherries and other stonefruit.

Photo: Alex Wild

The adult beetles can cause direct feeding damage in ripening stonefruit. Adult beetles are also a major vector of the fungal diseases including brown rot (Monilinia spp.) in a wide range of host crops. They prefer moist conditions, and beetles fly once temperatures are above 22°C. The adults lay their eggs in rotting or damaged fruit on the ground and the larvae develop within the fruit. Mature larvae then emerge and pupate in the soil. Thinning’s can also be a food source.

There are multiple overlapping generations each year, with adult beetles emerging from the orchard floor or flying in from neighbouring orchards to attack fruit in late spring and summer.

Good orchard hygiene can contribute to the control of this pest within the orchard. Removal of fallen and damaged fruit, including mulching thinnings, can reduce availability of breeding sites and helps to break the life cycle. However, in susceptible crops good hygiene practices alone often do not provide adequate control.

Photo: Dept of Agriculture and Food, WA.

Related Pests

Codling Moth

Cydia pomonella

Codling moth (Cydia pomonella) is the most serious pest of apples and pears in New Zealand. Adults lay eggs on or near fruits and the larvae burrow their way into the fruit. It is critical to control the larva before it enters the fruit as presence in fruit is a quarantine pest in several key export markets.

Bronze Beetle

Eucolaspis brunnea

The adult form of the New Zealand grass grub is commonly called bronze beetle (Eucolaspis brunnea). Flights of the beetles in late spring can cause damage to fruit trees including apples. On apples the beetle chews leaves and fruits causing scalloping marks on fruit.

Woolly Apple Aphid

Eriosoma lanigerum

Woolly apple aphid (Eriosoma lanigerum) is a prevalent pest within apple orchards and can cause significant damage to the trees. The aphids (often referred to as woolly aphids) infest the aerial parts of trees and sometimes the roots, sucking sap from the plant.

Feeding damage from heavy infestations can result in knotted and galled lumps on older wood and bud damage on shoots which can negatively affect the following years crop. Fruit contamination and infestation contributes to significant productivity losses and aphid infestation of fruit calyces can present a market access problem in some markets.