Re: iris borers in the South

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Iris Borers are a serious issue in Kentucky.  Also, I found a newspaper article from Augusta, Georgia and it mentioned Iris Borers, but it was so laden with commercials and video commercials that I closed the window. 

Mark A. Cook 

Here's a (very) rough map of the range of iris borer (Macronoctua onusta): https://bugguide.net/node/view/11123/data. It's based on user-submitted photos so not complete (obviously they occur in Michigan), but gives the general idea. The borer is a native species, with Iris versicolor and I. virginica (and I. hookeri?) as its natural hosts. Since it doesn't occur in the Deep South even though suitable native iris hosts do, there must be some other reason that it's a northern species.

Sean Z