Okay, I am a brand new suburban orchard farmer, just planted 2 apple and 2 pear trees and I am excited and nervous about taking care of them. I got them from the nursery less than a week ago, and when I went to water them today I noticed these ugly bugs all over the leaves, and it seems like they are eating them! I gave the tree a good watering and also sprayed the bugs off the tree. Does anyone know what they are, what damage they might be causing, how to prevent them, etc.?
All the pictures are of my actual trees, except for the large close-up photo that I found while googling, but I couldn't figure out anything about the bugs.
Thanks!
~Andrew
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!potatoes!
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location? those are flies of some sort, but I have doubts that they're actually eating the trees (wrong mouthparts). unless their babies are present...or they could be going after something else that's actually doing damage. the visible damage on the tree looks more like disease than immediate insect damage, though.
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rainbowgardener
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I have a suspicion Andrew that the offender is the European Saw Fly.
The adult fly leaves its eggs on the young leaves and the resulting tiny maggots(worms|) munch away.
Damage to the extension leaves is usually of no real danger...however if the attack happens early in the year then the young fruitlets can be damaged. They will show a scar like trail across the surface of the apple where the little blighters have chewed.
I believe there is a pheromone trap available for saw Fly...check your garden centre.
The adult fly leaves its eggs on the young leaves and the resulting tiny maggots(worms|) munch away.
Damage to the extension leaves is usually of no real danger...however if the attack happens early in the year then the young fruitlets can be damaged. They will show a scar like trail across the surface of the apple where the little blighters have chewed.
I believe there is a pheromone trap available for saw Fly...check your garden centre.
After worrying all night and researching more this morning, it seems all 4 of my trees may already have FIREBLIGHT!rainbowgardener wrote:Agree that what we can see of the damage does not look like it is being eaten by insects. It could be diseased or it almost looks burned... did you spray the trees with anything?
The bugs are just attracted to it, but the way the leaves are wilted, burnt looking, folding over like a shepherd's hook, etc.... I can't say for certain since I am a new grower, but that is my fear. We just put them in the ground 5 days ago, could they contract it that fast, or is it something that they got from the nursery then brought it to our backyard??
Thanks Jona878, I will definitely look into it. I posted on an "ask an expert" site that they came back with "Hessian Fly" which I have never heard of. And although it kind of looks like that, it seems weird to me that a fly that likes wheat, barley, and rye would be so attracted to my fruit trees.JONA878 wrote:Still think it worth while looking up Saw Fly. That damage is typical of the pest.
Don't go by the name Andrew.
Over this side of the pond the Dock Saw Fly is a problem for growers late in the season.....when it produces the problem that your shoots are showing.
It's called the ' Dock' Saw Fly because the weed ,Dock, is a host of the fly for most of its life. The blasted things only move onto the orchards for a limited part of the year.
There are many pests that spend most of their time on other host plants ...only using other crops for feeding/breeding etc.
Over this side of the pond the Dock Saw Fly is a problem for growers late in the season.....when it produces the problem that your shoots are showing.
It's called the ' Dock' Saw Fly because the weed ,Dock, is a host of the fly for most of its life. The blasted things only move onto the orchards for a limited part of the year.
There are many pests that spend most of their time on other host plants ...only using other crops for feeding/breeding etc.
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applestar
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It's great to have someone actually RECOGNIZE the damage and the likely cause. This European/dock sawfly is a new one for me. I should keep an eye out. I do have curly dock and broadleaf dock growing here and there.
I searched for "fly with white abdomen" because that's what those look like and they don't look anything like dock sawfly or hessian fly, and came across this:
-- huh that first link doesn't work -- I believe this is the right one:
https://wimastergardener.org/?q=Entomophthora_muscae
NOW the question becomes are these white bellied flies the culprit for the damage to the fruit trees, because IF THEY ARE, then they are already infected with the deadly fungus, and YOU DON'T WANT TO KILL THEM -- you want them to incubate the fungus and infect other healthy buggers. If they transmit the fungal infection to their offspring, even better.
I searched for "fly with white abdomen" because that's what those look like and they don't look anything like dock sawfly or hessian fly, and came across this:
https://www.whatsthatbug.com/2009/12/25/ ... e-believe/Karl believes this is a Fungus Infection
I don't know what kind of fly this is, is but think its flashy appearance could be due to a fungal infection, perhaps by Entomophthora muscae. There are numerous photos on the internet that look very similar to this this. The white banding occurs as the fungus bursts out between the abdominal segments (presumably just before the victim expires). For more information you could check out: https://www.hort.wisc.edu/mastergardener ... ophora.htm or check out the photos at: https://magickcanoe.com/blog/2006/09/07/ ... nnections/
Karl
-- huh that first link doesn't work -- I believe this is the right one:
https://wimastergardener.org/?q=Entomophthora_muscaeNOW the question becomes are these white bellied flies the culprit for the damage to the fruit trees, because IF THEY ARE, then they are already infected with the deadly fungus, and YOU DON'T WANT TO KILL THEM -- you want them to incubate the fungus and infect other healthy buggers. If they transmit the fungal infection to their offspring, even better.
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rainbowgardener
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Maybe. I did look up the pictures of the flykiller fungus. It seems fuzzier. The flies in this picture have such sharp lines. But I didn't find anything better. Andrew, did you say how big your flies are? I did find a White-banded Slender Hover Fly that looks something like yours, but hover flies are pretty small. And it was in a report from Australia: https://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane ... verFly.htm
If you look at the picture as large as it gets, you can clearly see that the leaves are infected with some kind of fuzzy mildew/mold, which does not seem to be related to the flies (at least it seems to cover a much larger area than the fungus "halo" left behind by flies dying of the fungus) and does not look at all like fireblight damage.
If you look at the picture as large as it gets, you can clearly see that the leaves are infected with some kind of fuzzy mildew/mold, which does not seem to be related to the flies (at least it seems to cover a much larger area than the fungus "halo" left behind by flies dying of the fungus) and does not look at all like fireblight damage.
Applestar - that article from the Wisconsin Master Gardener sounds exactly right. What I can't figure out is if the flies caused the damage or whether there was/is a fungus or some other disease in the trees that attracted the flies to it. In other words, are the flies the real problem, or is there something else going on? The day after I first reported the flies I went out to water the trees and they were all dead carcasses stuck to the branches, like that article mentioned. I either flicked or rinsed them off the leaves just to get them off the tree. They haven't returned, at least not yet in the quantities they were before so that is good. I have more concerns (fireblight?) with one of my pear trees that I will post in a separate thread and appreciate any expert advise!
Rainbowgardener - I did NOT spray them with anything yet. I think I need to - any suggestions? I am in zone 4a (Twin Cities, MN) which is a very hardy zone for apples and pears. I don't see any fuzzy fungus on my trees, but I may not have looked closely enough yet. I am worried about fireblight in one of my pear trees and will post pics in a separate thread - please take a look and let me know what you think.
Rainbowgardener - I did NOT spray them with anything yet. I think I need to - any suggestions? I am in zone 4a (Twin Cities, MN) which is a very hardy zone for apples and pears. I don't see any fuzzy fungus on my trees, but I may not have looked closely enough yet. I am worried about fireblight in one of my pear trees and will post pics in a separate thread - please take a look and let me know what you think.