How Do Ya Like Them Apple Moths?

California media outlets were abuzz today with news of a new study claiming that the light brown apple moth (Epiphyas postvittana) is not likely to become a pest in the USA. The researchers visited New Zealand and reviewed data from that country, where the LBAM has been around for over a century and currently does little damage to crops, living in sync with native predators since widespread spraying of pesticides stopped several decades ago. The report also concludes that the controversial aerial spraying of pheromones to trap the moths is unlikely to work in California.

With all that media coverage, it was still frustratingly hard to track down the actual study, but here it is (pdf), courtesy of the California Progress Report. Go read it for yourself.