It is individuals from the later portion of the second generation that enter diapause to overwinter in the orchard. A partial third generation may extend into early October, as an ever-decreasing number of the second generation mature into adults. Damage is uncommon after September, as temperatures are generally too cool for successful moth development. The males can move much farther, at times caught more than a mile from their point of release. Females do not often fly far, generally a few hundred feet or less if there are hosts nearby.
Females attract males by releasing a pheromone.
A synthetic codling moth pheromone is used in traps to detect the presence of males, and to roughly estimate the numbers of females present in the area. Females may lay over 100 eggs, mostly on or near fruit. Eggs hatch 8-14 days after they are deposited on the surface. Larvae must find and enter fruit within a few hours of hatching. They enter either through the skin or the calyx, and though they may chew their way into the fruit, they do not swallow the surface layer.