North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Chex <ricechex@rocketmail.com>]

Milky spore and Bt are great for killing japanese
beatles in the soil, the problem is that they can
fly in from miles away so you are still gonna
have your neighbors jb grubs growing up to attack
your plants.  Neem oil is organic and safe.  I
spray neem oil on the grapes and fruit trees.  It
doesn't stop a jb or two from stopping and trying
the leaves but they don't like the taste and tend
to move on rather than accumulate a swarm.  

What really is needed is a comprehensive regional
approach to the Japanese Beatle wich involves the
release of a fly and the Spring Tiphia Wasp wich
lays its eggs in the larva of the japanese
beatle.  Each Spring Tiphia Wasp that is born
represents a dead Japanese Beatle. The Wasp eats
aphids when not laying eggs in JB Grubs.  Food
plants that support aphid growth must be present.
 The best thing about them is that they can fly
out for miles and search out maternity hosts that
die as a result as far as any Japanese Beatles
range that could make it to your plants.  They
will also breed and increase their range.

Richard C. McDonald, Ph.D. Says,
 - "With adequate food plants nearby (this is a
must), and no toxic chemicals inthe ground, the
Spring Tiphia can parasitize up to 2/3rds of a
population of Japanese beetle or Oriental beetle
grubs.  Its period of activity ranges from April
through June, depending upon the location.  A
well-fed wasp can lay over 70 to 120 eggs during
her lifespan of 6 to 8 weeks.  The spring Tiphia
was considered by USDA researchers to be the most
effective parasitoid of the Japanese beetle
throughout its range." - 

The USDA released these wasps on the east coast
decades ago but has completely abandoned the
midwest.  I think that the Japanese Beatle should
be treated as a National Disaster and that
Biological Warfare should be declared upon these
foriegn invaders!

To learn more about the Spring Tiphia go to:

http://www.drmcbug.com

Or contact:
Richard C. McDonald, Ph.D.
Symbiont Biological Pest Management
194 Shull's Hollar
Sugar Grove, NC 28679
(828) 297-BUUG (2884) Phone
email: the_edge@goboone.net

He can get you the Spring Tiphia wasp for release
in your area.

Chris Rice
zone 5, IL (heavily infested with Japanese
beatles now)




> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2006 11:10:55 -0500
> From: "Kieran and Donna"
> <redherring@tnaccess.com>
> Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Japanese Beetle Damage
> To: "North American Fruit Explorers"
> <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Message-ID:
> <004001c6ac17$1d3892f0$68f7b40c@alternatmc7pq2>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
> 
> We heard that the beetles were really bad in
> some parts of Illinois this year.  I thought
> how awful for them.  For years they have been
> able to grow plums, cherries, grapes and
> apples, and suddenly there is this complete
> change.  From now on these plants will be
> stripped annually unless protected.  They hit
> East Tennessee a few years before we moved
> there, so basically all the years I have been
> here they have been a fact of life.  I wouldn't
> know how to pick a grape if I were to ever see
> one.  (Oddly enough, the wild muscadines seem
> to produce, maybe the beetles overlook them way
> up high in the trees.)    
>      I've been told that there are two critical
> periods in the Jap beetle  life cycle:  when
> the grubs are near the surface feeding in the
> fall and in the late spring.  If one or both of
> those times are very cold or dry, the
> population can be reduced.  We were dry in the
> fall and cool in the spring, and we don't have
> nearly as many beetles as usual.  I go around
> and knock them off into a bucket with a little
> water in the bottom, then throw them by
> handfuls to the chickens and ducks (they have
> to be wet or they will just fly away). This
> year I can't even cover the surface of the
> water with an entire layer of beetles, much
> less the 2 inch deep layer I can usually
> collect.  The poor ducklings don't even know
> what they are missing, but the older hens
> remember.  When we bought the place, Milky
> Spore was not available, so I brought dirt from
> where we lived in east TN and dried and sieved
> it, figuring that if it took 16 years to
> protect the place instead of 2 years, that
> would still
>   be better than nothing. I don't know if it's
> working, but sometimes I find whitish skinny
> grubs and put them back in the ground.  
>     For those of you on the leading edge of the
> wave - Japanese beetles are moving westward at
> about 10 miles a year, the third year is
> usually the worst.  If you will spend the money
> on Milky Spore, it is supposed to cut the
> population by 75% in 2 years, by 96% in 6
> years.  We bought the granulated stuff that you
> can't get anymore, and pitched it as thin and
> as far as it would go.  At my grandmothers we
> tossed it on the neighbor's yard as far as we
> could.  The disease only moves at 5 FEET a
> year, so it really needs some human help.      
>                   Donna 


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