mastermind7864
Treehouser
My uncle has a lovely Catalpa tree.......and wanted me to ask if there is any form of vaccination for the Catalpa moth. He worries that they will kill his tree.
TIA
TIA
Is There Any Vaccination For The Catalpa Sphinx Moth
- Thread starter mastermind7864
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MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
TIA?
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/...696-912f-5d7b-95f1-9535aa06642c.html?mode=jqm
This says that they are sporadic and there's no need to treat them.
This says that they are sporadic and there's no need to treat them.
mastermind7864
Treehouser
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #4
Thanks In Advance.
treelooker
Treehouser
Does your uncle like to fish? The caterpillars are great bait.
Wasps that prey on moth larvae can be encouraged by planting flowerbeds and shrubs near the tree.
Wasps that prey on moth larvae can be encouraged by planting flowerbeds and shrubs near the tree.
mastermind7864
Treehouser
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- #6
He told me that someone he knows has their tree injected with something that prevents the moth, I can't find anything in reference to this anywhere.....
On the fishing, no Dale doesn't fish.
I'll tell him about the flower beds though. Thanks.
On the fishing, no Dale doesn't fish.
I'll tell him about the flower beds though. Thanks.
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
I wonder why? It's not like they're honey bees pollinating the flowers.
treelooker
Treehouser
Yes that's the wasp i'm talking about. the flowers gives it habitat near the catalpa.
o and i found a chemical listed for the moth, but i aint gonna tell ya. Dale can live with leaves falling once in a while, instead of nuking the landscape to be rid of a non-problem.
imo.
mastermind7864
Treehouser
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- #10
Dale is still very worried. I talked to him yesterday and he tells me that it was completely denuded the last two years. This tree is very special to him, as it is a graft from a tree used in ancient ceremonies.
SouthSoundTree
Treehouser
Guy, do you have some info for Randy. As you may or may not know, he's more of saw man than diagnostician. A link about moth population cycles or the like might help him not to have someone come nuke it.
FireFighterZero
Captain Zero!
Makes sense. Adult wasps eat way more nectar than insects. The insects are usually collected for the larva.
Does anyone know what type of wasp?
EDIT: braconid wasps. Or Braconidae family.
The article I read did say that dense populations of the moth can result in the loss of the tree as several generations of the moth can completely denude the tree each time it grows new leaves.
mastermind7864
Treehouser
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- #13
The Tennessee Dept of Forestry's infestation division came out to Dale's today and helped the old guy out.
They drilled a hole in the tree and injected it with Bacillus Thuringiensis, or BTK for short.
They drilled a hole in the tree and injected it with Bacillus Thuringiensis, or BTK for short.
treelooker
Treehouser
Seriously, for free? Talk about tax dollars going to work! Trouble is, Bt only works when eaten--are you sure they injected the tree?? And, this moth is not to be confused with the lethal Gypsy Moth.
Sean, anyone can google: The insect winters as a pupa stage in the soil, at a depth of about 3 inches. Large moths, some with up to a 3 inch wingspan, emerge in June to mate and deposit eggs on catalpa leaves, twigs and branches. Moths are strong and rapid fliers, with gray forewings and torpedo-shaped bodies. Wings are marked with irregular dark and light bands while the hindwings are uniformly brownish or gray. Normally, catalpa worms are heavily attacked by parasitic wasps and flies, so that few actually survive to reach the adult (moth) stage. There may be up to three generations each year in the south, but in Nebraska we see only a single cycle.
Management Methods:
Inspection/Survey Methods:
Watch for early signs of feeding caterpillars, such as small holes eaten into leaves, then increasing amounts of leaf area chewed away and later, total leaf destruction. Young worms feed on undersides of leaves.
Non-Chemical Management Strategies:
Hand remove worms from small trees regularly to prevent defoliation. Damage by this insect usually does not kill larger trees with well established root systems.
Chemical Management Strategies:
Insecticidal soaps and products containing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) may be effective on small caterpillars if good coverage is obtained. Use of insecticides may not be practical on larger trees since they usually recover from feeding and the attack of this insect is usually infrequent.
