Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 22:26:49 +0000 From: Clarke Brunt <clarke@brunt.demon.co.uk> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg523$foo@default> Subject: Re: UK Darlingtonia Pest/E-mail Problems (off-topic)/Lovely Wind
On 15 Jan 98 at 10:19, Nigel Hurneyman wrote:
> After the recent storms subsided, I decided it was time to harvest this
> year's crop of Darlingtonia seed. To my disgust, I found that every
> flower had been 'glued' into a ball, the innards eaten away, and the
> shed skin of a winged beastie was on the outside where the culprit had
> emerged and flown away. Is there such a thing as a Darlingtonia
> sawfly? Does this happen in the wild, or is it purely a European pest
> taking advantage of a new opportunity?
I've not been keeping up with the CP list, hence followup to a
message of weeks ago. I get lots of these insects whose caterpillars
glue leaves (or anything else) together to make a pocket which they
then proceed to eat the inside of. I think the culprit is known as
'Tortrix moth'. I've found them very non-specific about what they
eat. I get Sarracenia leaves stuck together, Darlingtonia, I've had
two cactus plants attacked. They are not too much trouble to deal
with if you notice them in time. The caterpillars, initially tiny but
growing to about 1cm, wriggle very quickly away if disturbed, and
can drop suspended by a thread (I assume they climb back up the plant
later). I don't actually know what the adult moth looks like, though
I suspect that one of two of them have perished on my butterworts.
Like the dreaded vine-weevil, this seems to be a pest which is on the
increase.
-- Clarke Brunt (clarke@brunt.demon.co.uk) http://www.brunt.demon.co.uk/
Cacti in Mexico, Cacti in flower, Seeds from Cambridge University
Botanic Garden
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