I really like the idea of recruiting more wasps to do the job. Why do
you use forsythia over other plants? Bloom time, easy to grow?
-------------------------------------------------------
Nope.
Wasp food! see URL (http://www.drmcbug.com/) for Spring Tiphia
wasp info. Here is a quote: "The spring Tiphia normally emerges when
bridal wreath spirea are in
bloom. After a brief period of feeding and mating, the female wasp
begins to hunt for Japanese beetle grubs to parasitize. The female wasp
is able to detect the presence of grubs in an area probably by scent,
and burrows into the ground in search of a grub. Once she finds a grub
in its earthen cell, a brief struggle ensues. The female wasp stings
the grub, causing a temporary paralysis that lasts about 30 minutes.
She then prepares an area on the underside of the now paralyzed grub
between the thorax and abdomen to receive a single egg. She rasps the
area with the tip of her abdomen and kneads it with her mandibles, then
attaches an egg to this softened spot. By wearing away the membrane of
the grub and making it thinner, the wasp larva, which hatches about 7
days later, has little problem piercing the skin of the grub in order
to feed. The female wasp can normally parasitize 1 to 2 grubs daily in
this manner, and can lay a total of between 40 and 70 eggs over her
lifespan of 30 to 40 days."
Dr. McBug assures me that the Tiphia is "in the environment" but
doesn't fly too far, and my tulip poplars are 60' in the air. What
else is easy to grow that blooms at time that the Tiphia needs to eat?
Forsythia! Choke Cherry, too. And some other trees - see the
website. The wasps are really expensive or I'd've had some released.
already.
Barb
On 2/14/07, BRosholdt
<rosholdt@erols.com>
wrote:
> Subject: > Re: [NAFEX] Wrapping trees for protection
> From: > list@ginda.us
> Date: > Tue, 13 Feb 2007 23:32:49 -0500
> To: > North American Fruit Explorers <
nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
>
> On Feb 13, 2007, at 8:32 PM, BRosholdt wrote:
>
>> Barb here in Zone 7a(?), central Virginia (couldn't prove
global warming at my orchard - we just had two weeks with temperatures
>> dipping to the single digits more than twice, and maybe more
to come - all with no snow cover whatsoever!)
>>
>> The real nuisance in my orchard is the Japanese Beetle. . . .
>>
> Have you tried milky spore? Or hormone traps?
>
> I put down milky spore when I moved in. Most of my neighbors
treat
> their lawns for "grubs" with one poison or another. The result is
a
> very manageable number of japanese beetles that don't do much
damage.
>
> Years ago my father tried a trap. The downside is that you
attract
> beetles from all around (you really want to talk your neighbor into
> doing this) but he bagged pounds and pounds of beetles with little
> effort.
>
> Ginda
>
> ------------------------
I am sorry I wasn't more forthcoming about my Jap Beetle history. I
have put down Milky Spore several years ago, and have not seen much
benefit, but we have heavy clay, are surrounded by woods and they
seems
to come out of the woods, too. Last year I spread beneficial HB
nematodes all over everywhere under almost perfect conditions. We have
clay soil, with compost on top (slight incorporation) following
fertilizer apps. Perhaps the Milky Spore was old/not well placed. I
could believe I need to redo that. I am currently working on planting
Forsythia to lure more Spring Tiphia wasps (Jap Beetle parasitizer)
down from the Tulip Poplars, feed 'em and get 'em working harder! In
spite
of all of this, I am losing all peaches and plums, some raspberries,
and the beetles totally defoliate the apple orchard by August. Not
good.
Traps don't bring more or cause less damage, but since I am only there
on weekends, they are less effective. I have several ideas. Surround
has been a temporary help, but at some point you have to not spray on
the fuzzy fruit so the white stuff wears off sort of, before harvest.
Bagging fruit doesn't seem to prevent the JBs eating
foliage. Extension says the beetles are out of balance and I am going
to need to spray
something like Imidan (?) but I am concerned about the effect of a
general insecticide spray on my HB nematodes. They were a little
expensive to just kill off, even in patches, and I can't really spray
the everbearing raspberries.
Has anyone ever tried any of these:
1. Japanese Beetles (JB) blended with water in a blender, let sit for
a few hours, strained and sprayed the result (an old Organic Gardening
remedy) on the plants.
2. Completely wrapping the trees in something. Especially the very
young trees that have a very negative response to defoliation (limb
extension, disease, and/or death).
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