Apocheima Cinerarius

Apocheima Cinerarius 

a moth of the family Geometridae that is distributed in Middle Asia. The moths produce one generation annually. The pupae winter 3–20 cm under the soil, close to tree trunks. The moths appear in late February or March. After mating, the wingless females deposit as many as 750 eggs in openings and under loose scales of tree bark. The caterpillars eat the buds and leaves of mulberry, apricot, peach, plum, apple, quince, poplar, acacia, and other trees. From late April to early May the caterpillars enter the soil and pupate. Control measures include applying adhesive rings to the trees to prevent females from climbing up, shaking off the caterpillars onto sheets, digging up the soil under trees within a radius of 1 m to destroy the pupae, and spraying with insecticides, except in the case of mulberry.