page_title: Cadra figulilella
section_title: Predators
hierarchical_section_title: Cadra figulilella / Enemies / Predators
caption_attribution_description: English: Profile view of ant Pogonomyrmex californicus specimen casent0102895.
context_page_description: Cadra figulilella, the raisin moth, is a moth of the family Pyralidae. The raisin moth is known most commonly as a pest that feeds on dried fruits, such as the raisin and date. It covers a range that includes much of the world, primarily situating itself in areas of California, Florida, the Eastern Mediterranean region, and some parts of Africa, Australia, and South America. The moth prefers to live in a hot, arid climate with little moisture and plentiful harvest for its larvae to feed on. Study of this species is important due to the vast amount of economic damage it causes yearly and worldwide to agriculture crops.
  Adult raisin moths have a life span of 11–16 days and devote most of their resources to reproduction. Eggs are laid on or near the fruit and larvae immediately begin boring and infesting the fruit. Fumigation after harvest does not save infested fruits, as the pest has already dug into the fruit and spoiled it.
  The mating process consists of pheromone release by both the male and female moths as well as many other copulatory rituals that function to prevent interspecies mating. Copulation consists of specific head bump technique paired with thrusting behavior.
context_section_description: Raisin moth larvae face predation from competitors on dropped fruit. The mortality of the moth larvae in dropped fruit is higher in the presence of the fire ant Solenopsis aurea and the California harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex californicus. Both of these ants forage on dropped fruit, but will also consume the moth larvae if it is present.
caption: Pogonomyrmex californicus, a predator of C. figulilella
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