Opostegoides scioterma
Pest description and crop damage Adults are a gray moth, about 6 mm long, that can be seen flying in early summer. Larvae are slender and semi-transparent. They feed and mine under the cane cambium of both new canes and canes from the previous season's growth. Their mining can stunt or kill the tips of new canes.
Biology and life history Adults can be seen flying in early summer. Larvae mine is a slender, linear tunnel that normally curves at both the upper and lower ends to form a narrow ellipse. When the larva completes a circle, it normally reinvades the initial mine and continues feeding and enlarging it.
Scouting and thresholds Inspect the cambium of new shoots for characteristic larval feeding and mining pattern.
Management-cultural control
Cut out and burn infested canes.
Management-chemical control: HOME USE
No products are registered for control of this pest in home gardens.
Management-chemical control: COMMERCIAL USE
No insecticides are registered for this pest. However, other insecticides registered for use in currants and gooseberries that are known to control lepidopteran larvae (e.g. tent caterpillar) may provide some control for this pest.