{"id":2779,"date":"2020-09-01T21:25:01","date_gmt":"2020-09-01T21:25:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgmetro\/?p=2779"},"modified":"2020-09-01T21:25:04","modified_gmt":"2020-09-01T21:25:04","slug":"southern-pink-moth-pyrausta-inornatalis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgmetro\/2020\/09\/01\/southern-pink-moth-pyrausta-inornatalis\/","title":{"rendered":"Southern Pink Moth, Pyrausta inornatalis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Natter\u2019s Notes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jean R. Natter<\/strong>, OSU Master Gardener<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As of early July 2020, there\u2019s a new pest in town, and it goes by the name of Southern Pink Moth, alias Pyrausta inornatalis<\/em>. The adult moth, found in SE Portland and submitted to the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) was soon declared a new record for Oregon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Less than two weeks later, a person from Milwaukie submitted an inquiry to Ask an Expert about a small pink moth resting on a salvia leaf in their garden. Its ID was soon verified as a Southern Pink Moth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Adult
The Southern Pink Moth, Pyrausta inornatalis, wingspan 13mm, was recently identified as a first record for Oregon. Host plants are annual and perennial Salvia species. (Image source:
https:\/\/bugguide.net\/node\/view\/1526170\/bgimage<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Normal distribution of the Southern Pink Moth is across the southern states, and are most common in the southeast. On the west coast, only four other specimens have been documented, those from Southern California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Precious little info is available about this small pest. The only official details I was able to locate stated that the adult moth is about a half-inch long, with a wingspread of 13mm.  The forewings are reddish-pink, the hindwings fuscous (brownish gray) and fringed. In the southern states, the adults fly March to November. The larvae bore into salvia flowers and flower buds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comments on a garden forum described the larvae is small (about a half-inch), almost translucent, and marked with dark dots. The larvae bore into the base of salvia flowers and flower buds. (As a result, they can be classified as budworms, and will annoy gardeners just as much as do the familiar geranium- and petunia-budworms.) Each pupa is in a filmy cocoon attached to the plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Larva
Larva of the Southern Pink Moth, aka Salvia Budworm, Pyrausta inornatalis, is classified as a budworm because it has the nasty habit of boring into the base of Salvia flower buds and flowers. (Image source: https:\/\/bugguide.net\/node\/view\/229077\/bgimage<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Bacillus thuringiensis<\/em> (Bt<\/em>) can be used effectively against budworms but timing is critical. One must apply Bt<\/em> as soon as the first flower buds are damaged. Better yet, apply Bt<\/em> as the eggs start to hatch such that Bt<\/em>-coated tissue will be the caterpillars first bite. Unfortunately, Bt<\/em> degrades quite rapidly when exposed to sunlight, so repeat applications may be needed. Fortunately, Bt<\/em> targets caterpillars without damaging other insects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A more direct control method is to check buds for tiny holes and then removing (or squishing) those that are infested.  Other times, the caterpillar will still be on the outside of the bud. Cold winters are believed to kill the pupae, with temperatures of 20F or less able to reduce the next season\u2019s population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No control guidelines have been issued by ODA or OSU as yet. But since this is a newly introduced species, ODA would be interested in any reports and locations so that they can map the spread of this species. Contact ODA at 503-986-4636.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Canadian Entomologist\u201d – https:\/\/archive.org\/stream\/canadianentomolo17ento#page\/57\/mode\/1up<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BugGuide: Images of adults, larvae and pupae – https:\/\/bugguide.net\/node\/view\/81627<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multiple images at \u201cButterflies and Moths of North America\u201d \u2013 lg larva https:\/\/www.butterfliesandmoths.org\/species\/Pyrausta-inornatalis<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discover Life: Images adults (resting and pinned), also a distribution map – https:\/\/www.discoverlife.org\/mp\/20q?search=Pyrausta+inornatalis&mobile=close&flags=glean<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BugGuide – image of adult https:\/\/bugguide.net\/node\/view\/1526170\/bgimage<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BugGuide \u2013 image of larva https:\/\/bugguide.net\/node\/view\/229077\/bgimage<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PDF Natter’s Notes 2020-09 Southern pink moth<\/a>Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Natter\u2019s Notes Jean R. Natter, OSU Master Gardener As of early July 2020, there\u2019s a new pest in town, and it goes by the name of Southern Pink Moth, alias Pyrausta inornatalis. The adult moth, found in SE Portland and submitted to the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) was soon declared a new record for… Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8248,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1179565],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-natters-notes"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgmetro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgmetro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgmetro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgmetro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8248"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgmetro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2779"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgmetro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2779\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2786,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgmetro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2779\/revisions\/2786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgmetro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgmetro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgmetro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}