Re: ANTS

 

Last year ants were cultivating woolly aphids on the spathes of foetidissima here. I have very few spurias blooming yet, but hopefully that will change (keep wild-collecting seeds for SIGNA, Eurasian members!). Do the ants actually cross-pollinate spurias, interfering with controlled hybridization?


I don't like the sound of those bifenthrin-based ant -icides. They remain in the soil a long time and are highly toxic to all insects (not just the target pest), as well as to fish.

Sean Z
Zone 6a
SE Michigan



On Sat, Jun 1, 2013 at 2:03 PM, Kenneth Walker <k*@astound.net> wrote:
 

I agree that ants are a bit annoying when trying to pollinate spurias, but the real problem comes when they bring aphids to feed inside the spathes as the seeds are forming in the pods. You hardly want the pods to be stressed while the seeds are developing. I occasionally check them and hit the aphids with insecticidal soap. That slows down the infestation, reducing the stress on the plant.

Ken Walker
Concord, CA USA

On 6/1/2013 10:39 AM, Dennis Kramb wrote:
 
I haven't used any chemicals in the garden in the 14 years I've lived here.  Just not my style.  The ants congregate at the base of the flower where the nectar oozes out.  It's just a little unnerving having them crawl onto my fingers as I'm trying to manipulate the flower to apply the pollen.  (Mosquitoes are worse.)

Foetidissima attracts ants just like a Spuria.  And the stigmatic lip is just like a Spuria.  The anthers, though, are a bit more like a TB than a Spuria.


Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index