RE: thrips and pollen

Various pollen eaters are a big problem here after it gets warm. The only thing I've found that consistently works (I don't spray) is to harvest anthers before they open, bring them indoors and put them on a piece of paper to open and dry.
The worst pollen eaters here are cucumber beetles and I've found that manually capturing and squashing them works well. Takes a few days of serious hunting and squishing to make much of a dent in the population, but it has been <very> effective. I suspect they may be one of my 'bee' pod pollinators.
The other big pollen eater is a tiny little non-flying thing that doesn't like being dried out on a piece of paper under a lamp. These things are so tiny, I have no idea what they are. Usually several on each anther I collect. 
--
Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7/8
East Tennessee Iris Society <http://www.DiscoverET.org/etis>
Region 7, Kentucky-Tennessee <http://www.aisregion7.org>
American Iris Society web site <http://www.irises.org>
talk archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-talk/>
photos archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-photos/>
online R&I <http://www.irisregister.com>

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE IRIS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index