Xtremehorticulture

Bug Problem Confusion on Pomegranate

Q. I have a pomegranate tree that bears fruit with dark red seeds. I have been fighting a bug that turns the inside pale white, almost gray. I also have a big, slow flying bug that sits on the fruit and puts its tail in it, splitting it for the birds. We also have the Katydids which I didn’t know were harmful until recently. I tried to be as organic as possible. leaffooted plant bug shot from reader. Not sure where it is…..? A. Thanks for the follow-up pictures to help me identify problems. The katydid is a problem on pomegranates in California but I had never heard of it reported as a problem here. The picture you sent to me is not a katydid but a green lacewing which is a “good guy”. Their young are probably after aphids or immature whiteflies. Confusion of green lacewing with katydid by reader Katydid on pomegramate             I did not get a picture of the second insect and I do not know what it is. But be careful in identifying insects so you don’t confuse the “good guys” with the “bad guys”. Pomegranate pest management in San Joaquin Valley              The leaf footed plant bug is a perennial problem on pomegranates, other fruit and nut trees and vegetables. Organic sprays such as soap and water are effective when they are very young but not so when they are older such as now. Control of these critters should start in about April.             Conventional pesticides like synthetic pyrethrins are the only way I know of getting some control this time of year. http://xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com/2014/08/understanding-and-controlling.html http://xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com/2017/04/traditional-pesticides-to-control-leaf.html http://xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com/2014/04/expect-those-ugly-bugs-on-pomegranate.html

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Don’t Kill the Green Lacewings By Accident!

Green lacewing adult. This is not my picture. I borrowed it from somewhere on the internet and now cant find it. Sorry to whoever owns it. Q. I planted one of your bare root trees and it’s doing fairly well.  This morning I noticed some pale green flying bugs on them.  They were too fast for me to get a picture but they are about 3/4″ long with a 1/16″ diameter body with fairly long legs.  The wings were almost transparent.  I’ve had a major problem with borers in the past and want to make sure these aren’t going to kill my trees.  With that limited info can you guess at what they are and if treatment is needed? A. I think this calls for some congratulations.  If I am seeing from your description, what you are seeing, and seeing it correctly, you have green lacewings; a fabulous addition to your fruit trees.  This is my picture. Green lacewing egg on a thin stalk elevated from the surface of a green almond. Finding this on fruit or in the orchard is a great sign it is organic.          We have them at the orchard as well and it is primarily because we use so few pesticides and the pesticides that we do use are used in a way that helps preserve our beneficial insects like green lacewings and ladybird beetles are ladybugs they are sometimes called.  Both of these insects are voracious feeders on other insects like aphids for instance.  They can also do a number on other soft bodied pests.              Enjoy them. They are not good flyers but kind of flutter clumsily from place to place.  The voracious eaters are their immature forms. I am sending you pictures but I will post pictures of both the adults and juveniles on my blog because the adult and juvenile forms look nothing alike. You have to learn to identify both forms of these insects or you may make the mistake of thinking they are bad guys.             So now it is up to you to be careful in using pesticides so that you can preserve populations of these insects to help you out. They will not impact your borer population unfortunately but they will help you in other ways and you can look forward in seeing these guys each year if you are careful in applying pesticides.             That doesn’t mean you can’t apply any but you just have to be careful when and which ones you use. Even soap and water can kill these good guys, and will, if you apply it incorrectly.

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