Borers for Dennis K?
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Borers for Dennis K?
- From: B* S* <B*@hsc.edu>
- Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 07:54:06 -0600 (MDT)
Dennis, I hate to rain on your parade (yeah, sure) but I don't think you
have borers, at least not yet. It's pretty early. We are way ahead of you
down here in Virginia, and I have not seen any borers yet.
Also, borers do not directly attack the rhizome, as a rule. They begin on
the foliage, which is where the eggs are laid, then work their way down
through the fan.
Since there was already rot where you found your 'maggots' I suspect that
they are in fact, maggots. Some fly sensed the rot and laid its eggs
there, which hatched and began to feed. A good way to check: maggots have
no clearly defined head and no legs, while borer caterpillars have both,
even from the earliest stages.
Please, please don't take the appearance of these probably harmless
creatures as a signal to begin spraying Cygon all over the place. Wait and
see if you really do have borers, and if you do, try to handle the problem
first by killing them individually. I must say that the feel of a borer
being popped by squeezing an infested fan is very satisfying and a thrill
you don't get with Cygon.
Bill Shear
Department of Biology
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden-Sydney VA 23943
(804)223-6172
FAX (804)223-6374
email<bills@hsc.edu>
