corn question/wasps inspecting my corn

[applestar]

Tassles are starting to grow out of the top of my corn although I can't see any sign of silk/corn in the leaf collars yet. This is my first year growing corn, but according to what I've read, they don't start coming out until the ENTIRE tassle is out and open and the pollen starts to fly -- I hope this is the case and not that my corn are barren. Is there any benefit to feeding them something extra right now? What NPK ratio?

They are being regularly visited by wasps that crawl down into each leaf collar and come back out. I'm assuming they're looking for signs of corn ear worms and am happy that the "inspectors" are on the job.

[Charlie MV]

Yep, tassles come first and we were loaded with wasps and bees inspecting. We use a fertilizer that smelled like chicken manure. The local extension office says they want nitrogen. Several stalks hit 11 feet. I'm getting about 2 ears per stalk.

[applestar]

Thanks Charlie. I gave mine more fish emulsion and straight compost tea.
Two days later and I'm seeing "something" growing out of the collars of the 4 most developed corn plants. Not enough yet to determine how many per plant, etc. but isn't it funny how every little development in the garden can be so exciting?

[mikeingeorgia]

Hey all, I'm growing my first garden also and have 110 corn plants growing. They're between 2-4" tall. Wasps are beneficial to corn? I always considered wasps a painful nuisance.

[Charlie MV]

I don't know if the wasps benefit the corn, they are just all over it and don't seem to hurt anything.

[applestar]

Well, this is more of A=B and B=C therefore A=C kind of thing, but wasps use caterpillars to feed their young and corn earworm is a caterpiller so wasps must eat them too. I can't think of any other reason the wasps are hanging around the corn inspecting each leaf collar. Even yellow-jackets are busy feeding their young until around August. After that, they become nuisance at picnic, BBQ, and campsites.

https://www.eduwebs.org/bugs/yellow_jacket.htm

WESTERN YELLOW JACKET or WASP -- Vespula pennsylvanica

Although there are seventeen species of yellow jackets in North America, the one that people are most likely to have an encounter with in urban areas is the Western Yellow Jacket. Yellow jackets are beneficial because they are pollinators and they feed on a lot of soft-bodied insects such as caterpillars and flies that are often harmful.

Adult wasps are ½ to 3/4 inch long, with characteristic yellow and black stripes and transparent wings. Yellow jackets are often feared for their sting, which is a hazard to people who are allergic. However, they are beneficial as predators of caterpillars, flies and beetle grubs. Nests need not be removed if they are not interfering with the lives of people in the area.

Here's a good photo ID site: https://www.pollinator.com/identify/whatsbuzzin.htm

What's Buzzin' in My Garden?
"I don't know a bee from a wasp, a hornet, or a yellow jacket."
(These are pictures from the eastern USA, your garden may have different species.)

Also from https://www.small-farm-permaculture-and-sustainable-living.com/vegan_pest_control.html

‣ Wasps and hover flies:

There are many species of wasp and hover fly like insects that as adults are nectar feeders, but as larvae are carnivores. Adults in this group will hunt food for their young including caterpillars, spiders, aphids, earwigs, tomato worms and grasshoppers. Encourage them by letting parsley, carrot and fennel flower and having nectar producing native plants near your gardens.

p.s. Silks have come out!

[Charlie MV]

That explains a lot. We were using neam oil to slow down the ear worms. It worked ok but we still got a few. No major harm done. Later in harvesting we noticed the corn worms were almost non existent. This was after we noticed the uptic in bee and wasp activity. FWIW we had more honey and bumble bees than wasps but still a large number of each. Thanks Applestar.