Re: HYB: Verbena Bud Moth larvae

Will  --  I began only a couple of years ago to notice that almost anything
that touches a pod will invite an insect to take up residence and launch an
attack, for which reason, I now remove anything that touches a pod, whether
it is a spent flower, a spathe, a leaf or even a stick used to stake the
stalk.  If a pod curls, you can be almost 100% sure that an insect will bore
from underneath and the pod will be empty.  --  Griff

zone 7 in Virginia

----- Original Message -----
From: <willwarner@alltel.net>
To: <iris@hort.net>
Sent: Saturday, July 02, 2005 8:41 PM
Subject: [iris] HYB: Verbena Bud Moth larvae


> While harvesting Iris seed pods the last couple of days, I noticed several
> that had holes in them from Verbena Moth Larvae.  This is nothing new,
> they are really common here.  Something I hadn't noticed before is that
> most had entered the pod right where the dried flower was curled over
> and touching the pod.  I remove these dried flowers when harvesting the
> pods, and that's when I noticed the holes in the pod, the dried flower
> was hollowed out and filled with dropping from the grubs.  I'm
> wondering if the moth lays it's eggs on the flower and then the eggs
> hatch and the grub burrows into the pod?  I wonder if it would help to
> remove the dried flowers from the pods earlier?  When I find the holes in
> the pod, I removed the grub.  Most of the time there would only be one,
> but on some there were several. On some of the more dried pods, the
> grub had already turned into a cocoon.  I did notice a few pods where
> the grub had entered toward the bottom of the pod, where the remants
> of the sheath were, droping were more visable.  Most pods that were
> properly cleaned of the sheath and the dried flower had remained away
> from the pod (usually still up in the air), had no grubs.  I harvested
over
> 150 pods this year, the most ever for me.  Has anyone else ever noticed
> this?  I'm also curious if Verbena Bud Moths are common all over the US?
> Will Warner
> SW MO
> Zone 6
>
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