How to protect the cherry orchard from the mucous sawfly

Not only we claim for a cherry crop, but also about a dozen pests, among which - a cherry mucous sawfly. The larvae of this insect do not damage the berries themselves, they feed exclusively on leaf tissue, but with severe infection they noticeably weaken the plant, which affects yield. In order to effectively protect the garden, it is necessary to recognize the pest in time, determine the degree of damage to the trees, and use proportionate control methods.

Insect development cycle

Cherry mucous sawfly is a hymenopteran insect; the main harm is caused by larvae that look like tiny black slugs. The same thickened head with a thoracic segment, only without horns, a body covered with dark mucus. Remotely, they also resemble leeches. Favorite delicacy - leaves of stone fruit crops - cherries, cherries, berry berries, hawthorn, sometimes it can move to mountain ash, quince, cotoneaster.

Like all insects, the sawfly develops cyclically. For a year gives 2 generation of offspring.

Adult (adult)

The insect form common in our gardens is parthenogenetic, when only females are obtained from an egg. Its length reaches 5–6 mm, the body and legs are black, the wings are transparent, slightly darkened, and the size in the range is 7–9 mm.

The years of insects pupating in autumn (the first generation) begin in May-June, the second generation, more numerous, flies out by the end of July.

Note! The life span of a female cherry sawfly from leaving the pupa to death is 7–8 days. During this time, she manages to lay 50–70 eggs. The insect in itself is harmless, since it does not additionally feed.

Larva

The period of embryonic development of the insect lasts 1-2 weeks, after which larvae hatch from eggs. At first they are brownish-red in color, then covered with black mucus, shed up to 8 times as they grow, reach 9–11 cm in length. The larval stage lasts from 15 to 25 days. The larvae hatching in August feed longer than the June generation.

Pests tightly attach to the sheet and begin to methodically gnaw the top layer of pulp. The sheet plate is covered with characteristic spots with a translucent texture. A cherry sawfly, hitting a tree by the end of summer, eats away the fabric so much that only the skeleton of the leaf from the veins remains.

Doll

Larvae pupate in the ground at a depth of 7–15 cm. The offspring of the first generation leaves for wintering already pupated, it flies out at the turn of spring and summer. Young larvae fall into the range, pupae form in the spring, and adult insects begin years in the second half of summer.

Distribution and harmfulness

The insect is distributed in the temperate climatic zone of the Eurasian continent; its biological forms are found in southern Africa, Australia, South America.

It is believed that the cherry sawfly causes minor economic harm, so the fight against chemical agents is carried out only in case of damage to 25% of the leaves. The mass damage of the tree is evidenced by the characteristic, as if burnt, appearance of foliage.In this case, a violation of biological processes occurs - the conversion of organic substances (photosynthesis), gas exchange, and evaporation of moisture slows down. Accordingly, the plant becomes weaker, its immunity decreases, and productivity decreases.

Advice! You can find out if the sawfly has reached a threshold of harmfulness with a simple visual inspection. It’s time to sound the alarm if every fifth of the leaves randomly selected for the test is damaged.

Effective Ways to Combat

To protect the garden from the cherry mucous sawfly, both agrotechnical and biochemical control measures are used. With a small amount of the pest, prophylactic and folk remedies can be dispensed with. Consider the most effective.

1. Deep digging of trunks in late autumn. This agricultural technique allows you to destroy most of the pupae and false caterpillars that are at rest (diapause). When soil layers are turned over, they will fall to the surface and will be destroyed by birds or frozen out.
2. Mechanical collection of larvae. The technique is used when growing a small number of undersized varieties of fruit crops so that it is possible to inspect each tree. It is clear that this method is effective if there are single instances of a cherry sawfly.
   
3. Chemical treatment of the affected stands. Any insecticides designed to control pests of fruit crops are suitable - Confidor, Mospilan, Aktara, Inta-Vir, Calypso. They also recommend the use of pyrethroid drugs for spraying, the effect of which is similar to natural pyrethrins. They are contained in large quantities, for example, chamomile flowers.
   

   Advice! The first generation of insects, which coincides with the fruiting period of the cherry, can be etched with chamomile infusion. 400 g of dried flowers are put on a bucket of hot water, they insist for a day. The solution is filtered to stick to the leaves, 30 g of dissolved tar soap are added.

4. The use of biological products. These are bacterial insecticides created on the basis of toxic bacteria. Once in the body of the larva, they cause paralysis of the intestinal tract, damage to internal organs, and finally, the death of the pest. They differ from chemical preparations in that they are harmless to humans and pets.
5. Attraction of insect entomophages to the site. So called predatory insects that feed on their own kind, eat eggs, larvae. The danger to the cherry mucous sawfly is lacewing, soft-blood-red, trichograms, eating eggs. To attract them to the garden, grow flowers, fragrant plants - dill, mint, calendula, marigolds, coriander on the site. The sawfly does not like bright nasturtium. If you plant a near-trunk circle with flowers, this will scare away many pests.
6. Pollination with wood ash. The folk method gives a result with a small infection of the trees. Immediately after rain, while the leaves are wet, they are pollinated with ash. When it comes into contact with the larva, it gets burned, and its appetite is much worse. After repeated use, the main part of the pests crumbles.

Do not give the cherry sawfly a chance - destroy the harmful insect by any means available, otherwise only skeletonized leaves will remain from your cherry. If it was not possible to defeat the pest in the early stages, spray the trees with pesticides after harvesting.

How to deal with a cherry sawfly: