Ag officials keeping eye out for apple moth

New to California but already feared as a farm pest, light brown apple moths have edged closer to the Mid-Valley. But local officials, while watchful, see little immediate threat to the region's prune, peach and other crops.

Yolo County reported its first sighting of an apple moth April 2 in Davis — the first Central Valley appearance for the insect whose caterpillars can feed on more than 250 different crops and trees. A second moth was reported Tuesday in Davis a mile from where the first was seen, though the U.S. Department of Agriculture has yet to confirm the find, said Dennis Chambers, Yolo County's deputy agricultural commissioner.

Sutter and Colusa county agriculture officials said they are keeping tabs on the insects' migration but have not yet stepped up prevention efforts.

"We're not overly concerned at this point," said Mark Brown, Sutter County's assistant agriculture commissioner. "There's been a lot of different pest finds in Yolo that haven't migrated much farther north than that. But we're on the lookout because we don't want anything to get established here."

Sutter County has set 130 traps for apple moths and Colusa County another 27, mostly near populated areas. Agriculture departments in both counties said they would set out more traps if any moths are found within five miles of their borders. Davis is about 20 miles from Sutter County and 35 miles from Colusa County.

Attempts to contact the Yuba County Department of Agriculture were unsuccessful.

Native to Australia, light brown apple moths first appeared in California two years ago and have spread to 13 counties in and near the Bay Area. Their caterpillars' extremely diverse diet includes fruits, nuts and even pine needles, leading some entomologists to nickname it the "light brown everything moth."

How deep a foothold the insects can gain away from the cooler coastal counties remains a matter of debate. University of California researchers have predicted apple moths will have trouble coping with the Central Valley's triple-digit summer temperatures, but Mid-Valley officials cautioned the insects can enter hostile areas by hitchhiking on ornamental plants delivered to indoor nurseries.

If the USDA confirms the second moth discovery in Yolo County, the state Department of Food and Agriculture is expected to require inspections of crop and plant shipments including prunes, almonds and hay. A decision is expected within a week, according to Chambers.

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Howard Yune at 749-4708 or hyune@appealdemocrat.com.