Gallitsa - a small mosquito, a great harm to raspberries

To collect a plentiful harvest of raspberries, you have to make a lot of effort. In addition to thinning and feeding plants, it is necessary to fight various pests and diseases. One of the dangerous enemies of culture is gall midge. Small winged insects lay eggs under the raspberry bark, and their larvae feed on the juice and tissues of the plant. Pests quickly spread through the bushes, so it is important not to miss the first signs of damage.

Raspberry gall midge: types and features

Gall midges look like mosquitoes. The body size of adults does not exceed 4 mm. Their head, long legs and antennae are black, the back is brown. There are transparent wings. The entire body of the insect is covered with small hairs. About 6,000 different species of gall midges are found in nature.

Raspberry gall midge weakens the plant, therefore, after the pest, the bush is affected by fungal diseases. More often than other pest diseases, purple spotting accompanies. It appears on leaves, young shoots and buds. Purple blurry spots are a characteristic feature of the fungus. Infected areas crack and dry. For the treatment of bushes, 1% Bordeaux liquid is used.

On raspberry bushes there are two types of pests: stem and shoot gall midges. They are almost indistinguishable in appearance. Their vital activity leads to a decrease in yield, and with a large distribution, more than half of the bushes die.

Stem gall midge

Favorite places of mosquitoes are dense thickets of raspberries. Their years begin in the spring, with the beginning of flowering culture. There are several reasons for the appearance of stem gall midges on raspberries:

• excessive application of nitrogen fertilizers, causing exfoliation of the bark;
• insufficient thinning overgrowth;
• weak airing.

Attention. Flight of gall midges occurs after the establishment of warm weather - at the end of April or in May. The start time of activity varies by region.

To lay eggs, insects select the middle or lower part of the stem. On one bush there can be two or more outgrowths - galls. Larvae live in these swellings. They remain in the shelter for the winter, and in the spring, adults leave the growth for mating and procreation. In one clutch there are 8-12 eggs. After 10 days, legless larvae appear from them. As the inhabitants of the gall grow, it increases in size. Larvae of the stem gall midge grow up to 4 mm. Then they pupate, a mosquito appears from the cocoon.

Attention. During their stay in the stem, the larvae turn all internal tissues into dust. In spring, the shoot turns out to be dry, often the problem is attributed to freezing.

Insects have a one-year development cycle. During the season, each female produces one generation. The larvae of the stem gall midge penetrate into the shoot, causing a change in the tissues and the appearance of a rough outgrowth - gall. Its size reaches 30 mm. The appearance of lateral growths on the bushes is observed from August to November.

Escape Gallic

The female insect lays eggs in cracks in the bark of young shoots. Usually she chooses a place closer to the root or at the base of the lower leaves.The number of eggs is several tens. A week later, transparent larvae appear. As they grow, their color changes to bright orange. They do not sit in one place, but move inside the shoot and eat juice. The area where the larvae invade raspberries is particularly affected. This place is exposed, dries out, easily broken.

Attention. The shoot gall midge is detrimental to the young shoot of remont raspberries bearing fruit in the first year.

The larvae inside the plant move in a spiral. They rise from the place where they penetrated through the cortex by 20 cm. Having reached a certain stage of development, the larvae get out and fall to the ground. Pests burrow to a shallow depth and pupate. Soon new mosquitoes appear. For the period from spring to autumn, 3 generations are replaced. The development cycle stops with the first frost. The last generation of larvae remains to winter in the soil at a depth of 30-35 cm. At a stable temperature of +12⁰ winged pests are selected from the ground.

How to deal with raspberry gall midge

Having discovered growths on the bushes, treatment of plants should be started in a timely manner. In the spring, before the appearance of the kidneys, they are sprayed with Bordeaux fluid. Particular attention is paid to the bottom of the shoots. Before flowering, raspberries are treated with anti-gall midge insecticides: Calypso, Karbofos, Karate. Under the influence of systemic drugs, the bark, juice and plant tissues become toxic to pests.

The drug "Calypso"

Insecticide used against gnawing and sucking insects. The active substance thiacloprid, enters the body of the pest, paralyzes its nervous system. Death occurs after 3 hours. After spraying, the effect of the product lasts up to 1 month. The drug effectively destroys pests, but is safe for bees.

"Karate"

Insecticide "Karate" refers to a group of drugs of contact-intestinal action. It enters the body of insects in contact with the treated surface and nutrition. The tool first immobilizes raspberry gall midges, and then kills them. The effect of the insecticide appears immediately, only in some cases, the pests die after 2-3 hours.

Karbofos

The tool effectively destroys a large number of pests and has a long barrier effect. The current systemic drug is malathion. The tool is toxic to insects, two treatments of plants per season are recommended. Berries are allowed to be picked up 30 days after using Karbafos. The drug can be used in conjunction with other insecticides - "Fufanon", "Alatar".

During the season, two treatments are carried out - before flowering and after harvesting. It is important to spray the entire area of ​​the raspberry, to prevent re-infection. When preparing the composition, it is necessary to adhere to the instructions, do not exceed the concentration of toxic drugs. The action of any chemistry has not only advantages, but also disadvantages.

No less effective are mechanical methods of killing pests. Stems with growths are cut with garden shears and burned. In the summer, it is recommended to conduct a weekly inspection of the bushes for the timely detection of galls.

Prevention

Any measures to combat raspberry gall midge would not be effective without prevention. To prevent the emergence of mosquitoes wintering in the soil in spring, deep digging of the soil is recommended. As a measure that delays the flight of insects, peat mulching is used. A layer of at least 15 cm is poured on the ground. An important factor is the thinning of the shoots.

With severe damage to the shoots by pests, it is worth completely cutting them off. Next year there will be a new shoot, which must be looked after taking into account past mistakes. Carry out insecticidal treatment on time. To scare off raspberry mosquitoes, experienced gardeners advise planting onions and garlic near the shoots. The smell of these vegetables does not like pests. Also, fennel and parsley will help to drive them away.