An official website of the United States government.

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

National Invasive Species Information Center
U.S. Department of Agriculture
  1. Home
  2. Terrestrial Invasives
  3. Terrestrial Invertebrates
  4. Light Brown Apple Moth

Light Brown Apple Moth

Scientific Name

Epiphyas postvittana (Walker, 1863) (Brown et al. 2010)

Common Name

Light brown apple moth (LBAM)

Native To

Australia (Oregon Department of Agriculture 2007)

Date of U.S. Introduction

Colonized Hawaii by 1925 (Suckling and Brockerhoff 2010); 2006 in California (Brown et al. 2010)

Means of Introduction

Possibly through imported plant products (Johnson et al. 2007)

Impact

Damages crops and other plant life (Oregon Department of Agriculture 2007)

Light brown apple moth

Light brown apple moth, adult

Credit

Natasha Wright Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Source
Invasive.org

Find more images

Spotlights

  • APHIS Removes the Federal Domestic Quarantine for Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana) and Interstate Movement Restrictions

    • Dec 3, 2021

    • USDA. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

    • Effective December 17, 2021, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is removing the light brown apple moth (LBAM), Epiphyas postvittana, quarantine in California and Hawaii. APHIS is reclassifying LBAM as a non-quarantine pest, removing all areas under quarantine, and removing movement restrictions on LBAM host material.

      When APHIS first confirmed detections of LBAM in the United States in 2007, the best science available indicated that this moth would be a pest of economic significance. In response, APHIS and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) developed an eradication program. Over time, however, it became clear that the moth’s impact was not as significant as expected.

Distribution / Maps / Survey Status

Quarantine

Videos

Selected Resources

The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source.

View All Light Brown Apple Moth Resources
Partnership
International Government
State and Local Government
Academic
Citations