Last year I had the very early-flying tortrix Pammene giganteana to the MOL pheromone lure (actually aimed at Grapholita molesta) in the garden here on 14th March, having been prompted to use the lure after getting one to a light trap in Bernwood Forest four days earlier. This year I tried the MOL lure in the garden on 12th and 16th March with no results but today a single rather battered male giganteana turned up to the SKI lure (for Grapholita lobarzewskii) in weak sunshine at 1.20pm after the pheromone trap had been outdoors for half an hour. Last year I also had giganteana to the SUS lure (for Pammene suspectana), so if you have any of those pheromones for Pammene or Grapholita species it is worth trying them now, especially if you are close to mature oaks (the larvae of giganteana feed inside "oak apple" wasp galls). I should add, though, that there is only one fairly young oak near me and no mature examples within a mile of our garden so it seems that the moth could turn up just about anywhere!
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| Pammene giganteana, Westcott 17th March |
Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks
I had 2 to FUN and 1 to MOL yesterday within a couple of hours of putting the lures out. I am not far from several mature oaks.
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