This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

Re: beetles in my asparagus

Hi Joyce,

> Hi everyone,

> Please forgive me if this topic has been covered recently - I only get to
> glance at about every tenth post!  I have beetles decimating my asparagus.
> They are narrow and about the length of a ladybug, with rust colored upper
> body and black wings.  The wing part has two rows of small white
> triangles/dots, one down each wing.  They have just about eaten all the
> ferns of my asparagus.

> What are these nasty varmits, and what can I do?  I try to garden
> organically...And will my poor asparagus survive?  They are two years old,
> and I haven't even harvested any!

> Thanks in advance!

> Joyce in Lompoc (20 miles east of the California coast, just above the dogleg)

This is the Asparagus Beetle, /Crioceris asparagi./  The adults and larvae
(greenish gray with black head  and legs, plump, <1/3" long) feed on the ferns,
and can defoliate a plant.  Two to four generations per year, audluts overwinter
in plant debre.

Chalcid wasps and lady beetle larvae can help control them.  For a serious
infestation rotenone will help.  Make sure you clean up all the old ferns and
stalks at the end of the season, removing at least some of their overwintering
cover.

Your plants should be okay, they will likely make more ferns this year even.

Good luck

   ____________________
  |                    |
  |     Bob Carter     | Kootenay Bay, BC, Canada
  |  bcarter@awinc.com | Zone 6b
  |____________________|


Confuse people: start making sense.

***************************************************************************
To unsubscribe, send to: listserv@umslvma.umsl.edu
the body message: unsubscribe sqft
See http://www.umsl.edu/~silvest/garden/sqft.html for archive, FAQ and more.
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index