Like every gardener, I shuddered to meet the first news from the neighbors about the exit from the wintering of terrible pests — Colorado beetles. That was until he decided to meet me meadow moth.
The name is pleasant, sounds gentle and soft, like meadow grass, meadow hay, playing on the lawn. And a butterfly from the first grade gives a pleasant Association with childish glee: “Look! The moth flies!” Here is the deceptive amenity for many of my villagers have proved disastrous.
Danger behind the affectionate name
Meadow moth is much scarier than Colorado potato beetle. Beetles fly during the day, hiding in the soil at night. Meadow moth flies only at night. The butterfly swings its wings 20-26 mm, that is, it is large, it is easy to notice. One bad luck-the man sleeps at night, and the butterfly flies. Even in the light of a lamp, though outside it hangs, will fly a maximum of 3 moths. And the rest are busy-lay eggs.
Eggs of the meadow moth to see difficult. They are small, merge with the sheet. The caterpillar appears so tiny that it can also be seen only in a magnifying glass, the color masks it. The first sign of the appearance of the pest is a small spider web, which seems to glue the tender leaves of carrots.
At this time, it is necessary to carry out treatment with chemicals. After all, the appearance of a meadow moth is like a natural disaster, when the media reports about a storm warning.
Because the caterpillar grows very quickly. From invisible almost, she soon turns into a worm-35 mm.
And on the appetite of the caterpillar is not complaining.
Harm from meadow moth
If 5 caterpillars are planted on a tomato Bush in the morning, then there will be no Bush in the evening. Well, if only the barrel remains. Once it happened to those villagers whose gardens were located near the field. In the evening they watered cucumber wells, beds with onions, beet shoots, then drank tea and talked about the types of harvest and weather. And in the morning instead of green beds in the garden was only black earth. Shock state and complete misunderstanding of what happened: what happened? Who hurt you?
It was the work of a meadow moth. In an ordinary summer, he has only two generations, and this is not an epidemic. But it does happen and the years of mass flight — this is where the moths can destroy crops on large fields.
In the hot summer of generations can be more. In this case, it is necessary to enjoy a very strong heat, when a person is suffering from scorching heat. The moth, it turns out, also suffers — his eggs become infertile.
Omnivorous-the most dangerous quality of the moth
The butterfly itself does not bring any harm — it feeds on nectar of flowers.
The larva of the meadow moth omnivorous. While garden vegetable crops only germinate, in the spring the moth lays eggs on wild-growing. Then the caterpillars will move to more delicious leaves, because these crumbs-walkers are able to jump.
The larva of the meadow moth with the same appetite eats crops of carrots, oats, wheat, potatoes, onions, cucumber lashes and leaves.
Way of struggle
Mowing the grass around the site does not give a result, because the meadow moth is able to feed on old dry grass. Of course, the feed base after mowing is significantly reduced. Especially if everything is done on time and the dried grass is burned.
Well helps to cope with eggs Trichogramma. Here only where to take it? I’ve never heard of a local plant protection station selling it.
Biological products based on Bacillus thuringiensis help to cope with caterpillars. The fight should begin in the earliest possible time, otherwise, while the drug will help to clean the beds from the larvae, they will have time to do some harm. Treatment with these drugs is carried out when there is a mass butterfly years. At night, they find their locations, these places and treated with a biological product.
Ordinary chemical preparations help, but the concentration for the destruction of the moth should be several times greater than for the destruction of the Colorado potato beetle larvae. And treatments can be proactive. It is necessary to spray not only beds with vegetables and potatoes, but all adjacent territories where the grass grows: lawns, garden aisles, roadsides and so on.
If the doors of shops or bus stops saw the announcement of the invasion of meadow moth, have the same evening to conduct treatment. Otherwise, it may be too late.