Rapeseed flower borer is a small bug with a lot of damage

Rapeseed flower borer is a pest that damages vegetable and fruit crops, legumes and oil crops. Affects both cultivated and wild species of plants and weeds. the development of beetle larvae takes place in inflorescences, which significantly damages the flower, and thus the harvest. Adults eat pollen and inflorescences of rape, apple, grapes, cabbage, mustard and other crops.

Beetles hibernate under plant remains. At a temperature of 8-10 °C, they wake up, at a temperature above 12 °C, various flowering spring plants begin to populate: mother-and-stepmother, dandelion, sedum, gorse, cherry, rowan, fruit trees, etc.

Later (in the budding phase of cabbage plants), they switch to cabbage plants, where the development of sexual products is more intense. Quite often they switch to grapes during flowering. Females lay up to 10 eggs in an unopened bud. After 5–12 days, the larvae emerge and begin to feed. After 10-25 days, they pupate in the soil. Young beetles eat poorly, go to hibernate. The pest gives one generation per season, with the onset of very favorable conditions, there may be 2-3 generations.

Damage

The economic threshold of damage occurs when there are 6 beetles per plant. A strong population of rape flower eaters threatens the loss of up to 70% of the crop, depending on the culture and climatic conditions.

Number of beetles from one plant

Flower eater on grapes

Flower eater on strawberries

Protection measures

• Control of cruciferous weeds in crops and along the perimeter of the site
• Adherence to crop rotation
• Plowing with layer turnover
• Control of weeds along the perimeter of the plot and in the crop
• Application of fertilizers
• Soil loosening
• Treatment with insecticides.
  In the presence of pests, treat with a biological insecticide Imexab™ 10g/10l. Thanks to the active ingredient avermectin, it affects the feeding ability of beetles and larvae. Pests are paralyzed, as a result of which they die within 2-3 days after treatment. The ovicidal effect allows you to destroy the eggs, which increases the efficiency of treatments. To evenly cover plants with a working solution, ESPECIALLY WITH A WAX COATING (cabbage, rapeseed, peas, etc.), it is necessary to add the adjuvant Izomax™ 2 ml/10 l. Thanks to this, there is no "lens effect", the penetration of the active substance into the plant and uniform coverage with penetration into the most difficult places are improved.
• Mechanical methods - in case of a weak infection in small areas, beetles are collected by hand with subsequent destruction. It is recommended to collect in the morning.

These measures will help you in the fight against the pest and allow you to harvest a good and healthy harvest.