Woody odorous is a serious pest. The insect spoils decorative and fruit trees. Its characteristic feature is the strong smell of wood alcohol, which can be felt at a distance of up to 10 m. This smell is the discharge that protrudes from the glands on the jaws of the pest. Because of the smell of an insect, it is also called odorous.
Life cycle
The fragrant woodweed caterpillar is distinguished by its bright color and rather large dimensions. For her to become an adult insect, she needs 2 years. During this time, the caterpillar goes through several stages of development, turning from an egg into an imago, while still being a larva and a chrysalis.
Insect eggs are elongated and about 1.5 mm in size. After 10-15 days, pink-red larvae appear from light brown eggs with dark stripes. Their length is 8-10 cm.
Larvae overwinter in groups - after leaving the egg, they bite into the bark and remain there until spring. Usually this is a group of 15-30 individuals, but this is where their collective life ends, and then they live alone.
Turning into a butterfly
As the larvae mature, their color changes: they become reddish-brown, and their backs become brown-red. Adult caterpillars have jaws, and quite strong - they can easily bite the finger of a person who picks them up.
The next stage is pupation. Before turning into a chrysalis, the caterpillar moves to closed places. It could be:
- Soil at the foot of trees.
- Rotten stumps.
- Gnawed strokes in healthy plants.
In 15-45 days, the transformation process will be completed, and the chrysalis will become a butterfly. This can be observed in the third year after the eggs have been laid. This happens in the spring, and after 2-4 months the butterfly is ready to take care of the continuation of the genus. One female can lay up to a thousand eggs. But she does this not in one place, but in different crevices that she finds in the bark of trees. The female lays the laid eggs with dark liquid, which quickly thickens. In each clutch there can be from 10 to 200 eggs, and the future odoriferous tree will hatch from almost every one. The caterpillar and butterfly are the stages of development of the insect, during which it is most dangerous for plants.
Harm done by the woodworm
The odoriferous wood species is found where poplar, birch, maple, willow and other trees with soft wood grow. Fruit trees also suffer from the insect: in addition to apple trees, pears, plums, cherries, insects damage walnuts and olives.
Usually the pest settles on weakened or lonely growing trees. Damaged plants after such residents weaken, they are easily affected by fungal and bacterial diseases.
Because of the gnawed moves, young shoots dry out en masse, leaves fall from them. This becomes the reason that the fruit crop is sharply reduced, and ornamental plants become unattractive. Weak trees lag behind in growth, can dry out and die. Here are the consequences of what will happen to plants, if you do not fight a pest such as odorous woodworm. Photos are better than any words will help to understand how serious this "passenger" is.
Pest detection
The following signs tell about the fact that the odoriferous odor tree settled on the plants:
- The presence on the trunks of moves. They are quite wide and have an oval shape.
- The appearance of drill flour. These are small sawdust that spill out of gnawed passages. If the bark is damaged, then the sawdust will be brown in color, and if the damage is deeper, their color will be yellowish.
- Drying or lagging of the bark from the trunk.
- Leaking brown liquid mixed with pest excrement from holes in a tree. Moreover, the liquid will have a pungent odor.
- Having lived on one tree, the caterpillars crawl onto a neighboring plant. During this period, they can be seen on the surface of the soil.
Pest Control
The most effective way to control the pest is to remove or destroy the larvae at a time when they do not leave the bark of trees. To do this, use mechanical, chemical or biological methods. About the features of each of them - further:
- Mechanical destruction is the collection of larvae in those areas of plants where the bark is behind the trunk or even dead. To do this, you will have to do all the work manually, since no tools can be used so as not to damage the wood. The only thing you can do is put on gloves. After completion of work, it is necessary to burn the collected larvae together with the purified bark. Cover damage found on the tree with garden var.
- Chemical way. Provides for the use of organophosphorus insecticides. It can be "Chlorpyrifos", "Chlorophos" and others. Any of the preparations needs to be wetted with a cotton ball, and then find the course that the caterpillars made and put the cotton wool inside. A more simplified option is to inject an insecticide into the moves made with a syringe or syringe.
- The biological method helps best if the odoriferous tree has settled in the garden. Control measures in this case consist of attracting birds to the garden. Of course, only those that feed on insects - magpies, woodpeckers, rooks, tits and many other representatives of birds with pleasure eat pests, including fragrant woodworm caterpillars. In order for birds to settle in the garden, you need to think about this since the fall - hang up artificial nests, houses, feeders.
Preventive measures
To prevent odoriferous wood from appearing in the garden, it is best to take preventive measures. They consist of regular peeling of trees from moss and cracked bark. To preserve trees, you will need to lubricate the trunk using any of the mixtures below:
- Mix clay (2 parts) with lime (1 part).
- Prepare an insecticide, glue and clay. To do this, dilute the clay in a bucket with water to such a consistency that it resembles sour cream. Then add 10 percent “Karbofos” and 250 g of wood or casein glue. If the trees are young and the bark on them is very thin, glue should not be added.
Use the selected mixture on days when there is no rain. Frequency of use - twice a season: in spring, when there is still snow cover, and in autumn, after leaf fall. It is necessary to smear with a mixture not only the trunk of the tree, but also the base of the branches. The coating height is 2 m or more.