How to detect and neutralize a cherry fly

If any pest is capable of destroying the lion's share of the harvest of cherries and cherries, then this is a cherry fly. It is precisely characterized by the statement that became an aphorism - “if you don’t eat, then it bites us.” The larva can leave the berry long before the harvest, but it will no longer be suitable for consumption - the flesh will lose its density and begin to rot. What is this insidious pest and how to deal with it - the topic of the proposed article.

How to identify a pest?

At first glance, the cherry fly is an inconspicuous pest. Often, gardeners learn about her presence only by wormy fruits, when prevention is too late. If a wormhole was found on cherries or cherries last season, be sure that the pest has occupied your garden and is preparing to strike again as soon as weather conditions permit.

What does the insect look like? This is a miniature fly, not exceeding 5.5 mm in length. Her body is black, shiny, the head and legs are yellow, the shield is orange, and her eyes are green.
The main damage to the crop is caused by larvae - white worms, in adulthood reaching 7 mm. This living creature is easy to detect when the berry is broken.

The fact that it was a cherry fly that was noted on the cherry or cherry was detected by a number of external signs.

1. At an early stage - along black dots on fruits starting to pour. This is a trace of a puncture in the ovipositor skin. At this point, the fly laid an egg, from which the larva is guaranteed to spawn.
2. Later, a cavity appears in this place, which can rot over time.
3. The fact that there is a worm inside can be determined by the appearance of a ripe berry. The skin loses its characteristic luster, becomes dull, and the flesh becomes soft.

To detect a cherry fly flying out after the winter and take timely measures to control it, it is recommended to monitor using sticky traps. They are easy to make yourself. Small rectangles made of plywood (cardboard) are painted yellow, covered with a sticky substance, for example, ALT glue. Devices are hung on fruit trees and watched. If 2–5 flies stick to each day, there is a reason to use insecticides for treating trees. The beginning of the mass summer of the pest is indicated by 12–20 adherent insects. If at this stage you do not let him lay eggs, consider that the crop is saved.

Morphology of the development of cherry flies

The fight against the cherry fly will be more fruitful if you know what the cycle of its development is, how it relates to climatic and weather conditions.

The insect belongs to the family of multicolor, the type of transformation is complete. During the calendar year, one generation of flies hatch and develop.

Note! Under adverse conditions, some pupae fall into diapause and, being in the soil, remain viable for 2–3 years.

Insect departure and mating

When the soil warms up to 10 ° C in spring, adult individuals (adults) begin to fly out of the pupae. By time - this is the second half of May, the acacia bloom serves as a phenological reference.Females do not immediately begin to lay their eggs. At first they eat away, eating aphid secretions, wound acid of leaves, juice of early fruits. This period lasts 12-14 days, after which mating begins, then the laying of eggs. This happens only in sunny weather at a temperature not lower than 18⁰ С.

Years of imago lasts all June, captures part of July, so the pest manages to spoil the green and already ripened fruits of cherries, cherries, especially early varieties. After the laying is completed, the female dies.

Larval development

After about a week, a white worm appears from the egg. A tiny larva with a length of only half a millimeter begins to actively feed on the flesh, gradually rushing to the bone. The larval stage of the cherry fly lasts 16–20 days. During this time, the worm reaches a length of about 7 mm, leaves the berry, pupates.

Chrysalis stage

The first pupae appear in June. But in order to complete the cycle of development of the insect, lower temperatures are needed. Therefore, all cocoons winter in the soil, and transformation occurs only in the spring of next year.

Note! Falling from a tree, the worm immediately goes into the soil, begins to build a cocoon. All pupae are under a tree within the boundaries of the crown projection. Therefore, it is necessary to process not only the tree, but also the near-trunk zone.

What harm can it do?

If no control measures are taken with respect to the cherry fly, its population will increase from year to year. Accordingly, harmfulness will increase.

In southern regions, where this pest is especially active, up to 80% of the crop may turn out to be wormy. The severity threshold, after which it is recommended to use biochemical protective agents, is considered to be 1-2 vermiform berries per 100 pieces. The guideline is last year's harvest, as pupated larvae have not disappeared, and in the new season they will take up their dirty deed with a vengeance.

Prevention and control measures for garden pests

To destroy the cherry flies, various measures and methods of control are used. Pesticides are more effective, but they can not always be used for early varieties of cherries, when the insect’s mass years coincide with the ripening period of the berries. Supporters of organic technologies prefer to dispense with folk remedies, their main focus is not on fighting, but on prevention. In our opinion, the best result is given by the integrated application of agrotechnical and biochemical methods.

Agrotechnical methods of prevention

It is right to start the fight with the cherry fly by reducing the number of pupae. What needs to be done for this?

• Immediately after fruiting, remove the entire scavenger - take it out of the area or bury it to a depth of at least half a meter.
• Do not leave spoiled fruits on the tree - there is a high probability that a worm lives there, which will turn into a new fly.
• In late autumn and early spring, dig a trunk circle within the crown. Pupae that fall on the surface of the soil will die from frost or be eaten by birds.

Advice! Clogging the near-stem zone with grass will not save you from a cherry fly. On the contrary, without digging, nothing will disturb the pupae, and they will winter well. If you have sown grass under trees, you can’t do without chemicals.

Biochemical protection

The main battle with insects begins after their departure. To completely destroy the cherry fly, they suggest using insecticides as a control measure. Twice processing of trees is needed - during the mass departure (end of May) and after 2 weeks, when the adults begin to lay eggs.

For spraying, you can use any drug from flying insects - Confidor, Calypso Maxi, Actelik, Proteus. To enhance the effect, use another remedy for reprocessing, as pests have a highly developed mechanism of addiction to pesticides.

Note! The decomposition period of the toxic component of most modern insecticides is at least 20 days. Harvest is possible only after this period.

Folk remedies

Since the cherry ripens earlier, it suffers from the cherry fly more severely. It is not practical to spray insecticides on early varieties that spice in early June. In this case, they will come to the rescue folk remedies, here are some of them.

1. Fly traps. Immediately after flowering, jars or special devices with a small amount of fermented sweet liquid are hung on the branches of a tree. It can be stewed fruit, molasses, kvass.
2. Processing the crown with a solution with a strong odor. The insect has poorly developed vision, and it flies to the smell. To disorient it, the tree is sprayed with infusion of coniferous extract, tobacco, wormwood, garlic.
3. To prevent the fly of the cherry fly, the trunk circle is covered with agrofiber. This should be done in April, after digging and fertilizing the soil. Most of the pupae will remain under the covering material.

Do not give the pest a chance to ruin your crop. And for this, all means are good.

Ways to protect cherries from a cherry fly: