Re: Cult: Borers
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: Cult: Borers
- From: B* S* <b*@tiger.hsc.edu>
- Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 07:11:34 -0700 (MST)
About 20 years ago I recieved a shipment of iris rhizomes from a general
supplier (not an iris grower). These were my starts of Iris albicans,
though I didn't know it at the time. The shipper had imported the original
plants from Pakistan and grown them for a time in Massachusetts.
Every single rhizome had a borer in it. They were extremely obvious
because by the time iris rhizomes are shipped, the borers are nearly mature
and have destroyed the terminal growth of the plant.
Up to about five years ago, we never had borers here in southside Virginia.
Two years ago I found a few in my garden. Last year my Louisiana bed was
completely devastated and some pseudacorus badly damaged. Curiously, there
were no borers in my (admittedly few) TB varieties.
I would say that the borer is expanding its range slowly as irises become
ever more popular and abundant. There is always the danger of borers
"leapfrogging" from the margins of their normal range to places far away.
But keep in mind that at least one male and one female would have to mature
as moths to establish a population. I think the greatest danger is not
from commercial suppliers or people who trade a few plants, but from
landscapers who might buy en masse from an unreliable supplier, and not
know enough to check every rhizome.
It's remarkable that the borer has not made it to Europe or Australia. I
think we can credit rather strict inspection and quarantine proceedures.
Bill Shear
Department of Biology
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden-Sydney VA 23943
(804)223-6172
FAX (804)223-6374
email<bills@hsc.edu>
