Greater Peach Tree Borer

The adult greater peach tree borers are moths that look more like wasps than moths. The adult female peach tree borer has a dark blue-black body with an orange band on the abdomen, dark blue front wings, and clear hind wings. The adult male is blue-black, marked with narrow yellow bands on the abdomen, thorax, head, and legs; front wings and hind wings are clear but the edges and veins are outlined with blue-black scales. The male is 18 to 33 mm long.

Eggs are small, oval, reddish brown and hard. The larva is dull white with a brown head and three pairs of short jointed legs. Larvae are 1.5 mm when first hatched, and 30 mm when fully grown. Greater peach tree borers overwinter as an inactive larva under the bark, and resumes feeding and completes its larval stages in spring and early summer. The adult is the only stage that leaves the tree.

Photo courtesy of Clemson University Department of Entomology, Soils & Plant Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service.

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