The odorous woodworm is a serious pest. The insect spoils ornamental and fruit trees. Its characteristic feature is the strong smell of wood alcohol, which can be felt at a distance of up to 10 m. This smell is secretions that protrude from the glands on the jaws of the pest. Because of the smell of the insect, they are called odorous.
Life cycle
The odorous woodworm caterpillar is distinguished by its bright color and rather large size. It takes 2 years for her to turn into an adult insect. During this time, the caterpillar goes through several stages of development, turning from an egg into an adult, while also being a larva and a pupa.
Insect eggs are elongated and about 1.5 mm in size. After 10-15 days, pink-red larvae appear from light brown eggs with dark stripes. Their length is 8-10 cm.
The larvae overwinter in groups - after leaving the egg, they bite into the bark and remain there until spring. Usually this is a group of 15-30 individuals, but this is where their collective life ends, and then they live alone.
Turn into a butterfly
Poas the larvae mature, their color also changes: they become reddish-brown, and the back becomes brown-red. Adult caterpillars have jaws, and strong enough - they can easily bite the finger of a person who picks them up.
The next stage is pupation. Before turning into a chrysalis, the caterpillar moves to closed places. It could be:
- The soil at the foot of the trees.
- Rotten stumps.
- Gnawed passages in he althy plants.
After 15-45 days, the transformation process will be completed, and the chrysalis will become a butterfly. This can be observed in the third year after the eggs have been laid. This happens in the spring, and already after 2-4 months the butterfly is ready to take care of procreation. One female can lay up to a thousand eggs. But she does this not in one place, but in different cracks that she finds in the bark of trees. The female fills the laid eggs with a dark liquid, which quickly thickens. Each clutch can contain from 10 to 200 eggs, and almost every one will hatch into a future odorous woodworm. The caterpillar and the butterfly represent the stages of insect development during which it is most dangerous to plants.
The harm caused by the borer
There is an odorous wood borer where poplar, birch, maple, willow and other trees with soft wood grow. Fruit trees also suffer from insects: in addition to apple trees, pears, plums, cherries, insects damage walnut and olive trees.
Usually, the pest settles on weakened or lonely growing trees. Damaged plants weaken after such tenants, they are easily affected by fungal and bacterial diseases.
Because of the gnawed passages, young shoots dry out en masse, leaves fall from them. This becomes the reason that the yield of fruit crops is sharply reduced, and ornamental plants become unattractive. Weak trees lag behind in growth, may dry out and die. Here are the consequences of what will happen to the plants if you do not fight such a pest as the odorous woodworm. Photos will help you understand how serious this "passenger" is better than any words.
Pest detection
The following signs will tell you that the odorous borer settled on the plants:
- The presence of moves on the trunks. They are quite wide and have an oval shape.
- The appearance of drilling flour. These are small sawdust that spills out of gnawed passages. If the bark is damaged, then the sawdust will be brown, and if the damage is deeper, their color will be yellowish.
- Drying or lagging of the bark from the trunk.
- Flowing from the holes in the tree brown liquid mixed with pest excrement. Moreover, the liquid will have a pungent odor.
- Having settled in one tree, caterpillars crawl onto a neighboring plant. During this period, they can be seen on the surface of the soil.
Pest control
The most effective way to control a pest is to remove or destroy the larvae while they are not emerging fromunder the bark of trees. For this, mechanical, chemical or biological methods are used. About the features of each of them - further:
- Mechanical destruction is the collection of larvae in those parts of plants where the bark has lagged behind the trunk or even died off. To do this, you will have to do all the work manually, since no devices can be used so as not to damage the wood. The only thing you can do is wear gloves. After completing the work, you need to burn the collected larvae along with the peeled bark. Cover the damage found on the tree with garden pitch.
- Chemical way. Provides for the use of organophosphate insecticides. It can be "Chlorpyrifos", "Chlorophos" and others. Any of the preparations must be wetted with a cotton ball, and then find the move that the caterpillars have made and put the cotton wool inside. A more simplified option is to inject an insecticide into the moves made with a syringe or syringe.
- The biological method helps best if an odorous woodworm has settled in the garden. Measures to combat this case consist of attracting birds to the garden. Of course, only those that feed on insects - magpies, woodpeckers, rooks, tits and many other representatives of birds eat pests with pleasure, including caterpillars of the odorous woodworm. In order for birds to settle in the garden, you need to think about it since autumn - hang artificial nests, houses, feeders.
Prevention measures
To prevent the odorous borer from appearing in the garden area, it is best to take preventive measures. They areconsist of regular cleaning of trees from moss and cracked bark. To preserve the trees, you will need to lubricate the trunk using any of the following mixtures:
- Mix clay (2 parts) with lime (1 part).
- Prepare a remedy from insecticide, glue and clay. To do this, dilute clay in a bucket with water to such a consistency that it resembles sour cream. Then add 10% "Karbofos" and 250 g of carpentry or casein glue. If the trees are young and the bark is very thin, glue should not be added.
You need to use the selected mixture on days when there is no rain. Frequency of application - twice per season: in spring, when there is still snow cover, and in autumn, after leaf fall. It is necessary to coat with the mixture not only the trunk of the tree, but also the base of the branches. Coating height - 2 m and more.
