Apfelwickler vs Scarce Pine Piercer

Cydia pomonella compared with Cydia cosmophorana

Key Differences

• Apfelwickler is Not Evaluated while Scarce Pine Piercer is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Apfelwickler	Scarce Pine Piercer
Kingdom same	Animalia (Tier)	Animalia (Tier)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Gliederfüßer)	Arthropoda (Gliederfüßer)
Class same	Insecta (Insekten)	Insecta (Insekten)
Order same	Lepidoptera (Schmetterlinge)	Lepidoptera (Schmetterlinge)
Family same	Tortricidae	Tortricidae
Genus same	Cydia	Cydia
Species	Cydia pomonella	Cydia cosmophorana

Evolutionary Relationship

Apfelwickler and Scarce Pine Piercer share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Cydia.

Conservation Status

Apfelwickler

NE — Not Evaluated

Scarce Pine Piercer

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Apfelwickler	Scarce Pine Piercer
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Apfelwickler

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Europe (6 countries), and North America (Canada, United States).

Scarce Pine Piercer

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Apfelwickler

The Codling Moth (Cydia pomonella) is a lepidopteran pest in the family Tortricidae, recognised globally as one of the most economically damaging insects affecting apple, pear, and walnut orchards. Adult moths have a wingspan of approximately 15–22 millimetres, with forewings patterned in grey and bronze, featuring a distinctive dark ocellate marking at the wing tip. Females lay eggs singly on fruit or foliage; hatching larvae bore directly into developing fruit, feeding on seeds and the core, creating characteristic brown frass-filled tunnels. By the time infestation is visible externally, significant damage to the crop has already occurred. Originally native to Eurasia, Cydia pomonella has established itself on every continent where pome fruits are cultivated, including North America, South America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, facilitated by trade in infested plant material. Management relies on integrated approaches combining pheromone-based mating disruption, timed insecticide applications, kaolin clay barriers, and biological control using entomopathogenic nematodes and the granulovirus CpGV. Resistance to organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides has developed in some populations, complicating conventional chemical management. The species undergoes 1–3 generations per year depending on climate. Despite its pest status, Cydia pomonella is not conservation-evaluated.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden