What's eating my malus 'royalty'?

Malus 'Royalty' (ornamental crab apple) faces aphids, woolly aphid, codling moth caterpillars, and winter moth on its foliage and fruit. Birds and wasps target the small crab apples. Apple scab can weaken resistance, making pest management harder. Woolly aphid and codling moth are the most damaging persistent threats.

White cotton-wool clusters on bark and shoots, causing gall-like swellings; entry points invite canker and fungal infection. Scrub colonies off with a stiff brush and methylated spirit. Encourage parasitic wasps. Apply plant oil spray to crawlers in spring.

Larvae tunnel into developing fruit, leaving a frass-filled exit hole; fruit drops prematurely or is inedible. Hang pheromone traps from late May to monitor and reduce male moths. Apply codling moth granulovirus (Madex) at egg hatch.

Caterpillars eat flower buds and young leaves in spring, causing extensive holing and occasionally partial defoliation. Grease bands around trunk in October. Spinosad or pyrethrin spray during April caterpillar activity.