About Argyresthia conjugella Zeller, 1839
Argyresthia conjugella, commonly known as the apple fruit moth, is a moth species belonging to the family Yponomeutidae. It can be found in Europe, Siberia, Central Asia, Japan, and North America. This species has a wingspan of 10 to 14 mm. Its head is yellowish-white. The forewings are a rather dark purplish-fuscous color; the costa is strigulated with whitish; a thick white dorsal streak extends to the tornus; there is an interrupted dark fuscous median fascia; and one or two white costal spots are present before the apex. The hindwings are grey. The larva is dull whitish yellow; the head and the plate of the second segment are pale brown. Adult moths are on wing from May to July, with timing varying by location. The larvae feed on Sorbus aucuparia and Malus species. In Finland, Norway, and Sweden, the apple fruit moth acts as a pest to apple-growing areas. These moths are seed predators that feed on the seeds of rowan, also called mountain-ash trees. However, when rowan fruit production drops every few years in this region, apple fruit moths shift to using apples as a new host. Apples are not their preferred host, and the moths locate their preferred rowan seeds via odor cues.
