The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was successfully used to identify Cydia pomonella granulovirus (CpGV) in larvae of Cydia pomonella L. (codling moth). PCR with the primers CpGV-2A/CpGV-2B and CpGV-3A/CpGV-3B was found suitable for detection of CpGV. The primers Cp-I/Cp-II and Cp-III/Cp-IV were able to identify the transposable element TCp3.2 in C. pomonella larvae. The presence of CpGV in the larvae from orchards,which had been infected with CpGV was tested during 2 years post infection. (p.i.). CpGV was found in as many as 15% of the surviving larvae 1 year p.i. in one location. The virus was not detected in CpGV-infected orchards 2 years p.i. or in natural C. pomonella populations. This result suggests a poor persistence of CpGV in surviving C. pomonella individuals and its slow spread in a natural host population. One the other hand, the presence of a transposable element, transposon TCp3.2 may correlate with virus redistribution in this insect population.