Author Topic: Butterflies...  (Read 6133 times)

Laaz

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1142
    • Charleston, SC 9a
    • View Profile
    • Citrusgrowers forum
Butterflies...
« on: May 27, 2019, 03:06:27 PM »
One of the worst pests for citrus. Period!
« Last Edit: May 29, 2019, 03:29:18 AM by Laaz »

Bomand

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 564
    • LouisianaCFDFMY
    • View Profile
Re: Butterflies...
« Reply #1 on: May 27, 2019, 08:09:07 PM »
Yes and they are putting eggs on all new flush right now.......Malithion kills em

Vlad

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 245
    • Worcester, MA USDA zone 5b
    • View Profile
Re: Butterflies...
« Reply #2 on: May 28, 2019, 12:08:11 AM »
How can butterflies cause problems to citrus?

Laaz

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1142
    • Charleston, SC 9a
    • View Profile
    • Citrusgrowers forum
Re: Butterflies...
« Reply #3 on: May 28, 2019, 01:57:02 AM »
Yes and they are putting eggs on all new flush right now.......Malithion kills em

Indeed, I've been popping eggs as I see them & spraying the butterflies...

Laaz

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1142
    • Charleston, SC 9a
    • View Profile
    • Citrusgrowers forum
Re: Butterflies...
« Reply #4 on: May 28, 2019, 02:00:27 AM »
Yes and they are putting eggs on all new flush right now.......Malithion kills em

Indeed, I've been popping eggs as I see them & spraying the butterflies...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIgIoRMn0ig

Laaz

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1142
    • Charleston, SC 9a
    • View Profile
    • Citrusgrowers forum
Re: Butterflies...
« Reply #5 on: May 28, 2019, 02:01:07 AM »

Laaz

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1142
    • Charleston, SC 9a
    • View Profile
    • Citrusgrowers forum
Re: Butterflies...
« Reply #6 on: May 28, 2019, 01:07:50 PM »
Vlad, the catapillars can strip a 5 gal. Container tree in a day.

pvaldes

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 134
    • Spain
    • View Profile
Re: Butterflies...
« Reply #7 on: May 28, 2019, 05:16:02 PM »
Wow, such a beautiful creature in any case

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papilio_aegeus#/media/File:Papilio_aegeus_7990.jpg

Yup, definitely could sacrifice gladly some fruits for that:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGyPlZiEaLA
« Last Edit: May 28, 2019, 05:18:26 PM by pvaldes »

Laaz

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1142
    • Charleston, SC 9a
    • View Profile
    • Citrusgrowers forum
Re: Butterflies...
« Reply #8 on: May 28, 2019, 05:17:20 PM »
If the larve weren't so destructive....

Bomand

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 564
    • LouisianaCFDFMY
    • View Profile
Re: Butterflies...
« Reply #9 on: May 28, 2019, 07:32:41 PM »
Beautiful as they are I care for my citrus more than the ugly, destructive caterpillar stage of their development. Malithion puts a quick end to them.

Yorgos

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 306
    • USA, Houston, Texas USDA zone 9a
    • View Profile
Re: Butterflies...
« Reply #10 on: May 31, 2019, 03:47:31 PM »
Are you referring to the giant swallowtail butterfly, papilio cresphontes? As common as they are around here I have never felt they are problem to my plants.  They have never stripped even a branch on the numerous citrus trees on my property. I enjoy them in all stages of their short life and beautiful life. 
Near NRG Stadium, Houston Texas. USDA zone 9a

Laaz

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1142
    • Charleston, SC 9a
    • View Profile
    • Citrusgrowers forum
Re: Butterflies...
« Reply #11 on: May 31, 2019, 04:03:41 PM »
Indeed, and if they haven't damaged your trees they haven't laid eggs in them.

Yorgos

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 306
    • USA, Houston, Texas USDA zone 9a
    • View Profile
Re: Butterflies...
« Reply #12 on: May 31, 2019, 04:09:48 PM »
I see the larvae (caterpillars) all the time on my citrus but the damage is so miniscule there is no need of treatment. Wasps find them pretty quickly.  They are the greatest caterpillar hunters around. Few caterpillars evade them. I also grow dill and fennel plants for the black swallowtail butterflies that feed on them and wasps take them out quickly.
Near NRG Stadium, Houston Texas. USDA zone 9a

Laaz

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1142
    • Charleston, SC 9a
    • View Profile
    • Citrusgrowers forum
Re: Butterflies...
« Reply #13 on: May 31, 2019, 04:18:05 PM »
These things get bigger around than your thumb & twice as long. I've had them do major damage to my container citrus. You feed them all you like, I'll continue to kill them.

Bomand

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 564
    • LouisianaCFDFMY
    • View Profile
Re: Butterflies...
« Reply #14 on: May 31, 2019, 07:26:20 PM »
And I will help you to lower the population. They will seriously damage your citrus trees. Yea malithion.

Laaz

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1142
    • Charleston, SC 9a
    • View Profile
    • Citrusgrowers forum
Re: Butterflies...
« Reply #15 on: May 31, 2019, 07:35:56 PM »
Exactly.

raggashack

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 22
    • Austria, Vienna, 6-7
    • View Profile
Re: Butterflies...
« Reply #16 on: June 01, 2019, 05:27:28 PM »
lol the description of these caterpillars from laaz makes them look like nasty bad animals :D
i have no idea how many citrus plants u have, but putting some nets around the plants, just during the period the butterflies are laying their eggs,  is not a solution for you guys?? maybe at least around the small trees, if they have their size u have no chance anyway.

Laaz

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1142
    • Charleston, SC 9a
    • View Profile
    • Citrusgrowers forum
Re: Butterflies...
« Reply #17 on: June 01, 2019, 05:56:28 PM »

Laaz

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1142
    • Charleston, SC 9a
    • View Profile
    • Citrusgrowers forum
Re: Butterflies...
« Reply #18 on: June 01, 2019, 05:58:16 PM »

Bomand

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 564
    • LouisianaCFDFMY
    • View Profile
Re: Butterflies...
« Reply #19 on: June 01, 2019, 06:56:16 PM »
The eggs are laid on the new growth of citrus. Imagine of having a hundred trees with new cleft and bud grafts just starting to pop and finding that the nasty catapillars have eaten all the new growth. Enough to cause me to wage war on them in any manner possible. I hand destroy eggs when I find them and keep my citrus sprayed with chemical killer. I do not like my hard work destroyed by a bug I can control.

pvaldes

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 134
    • Spain
    • View Profile
Re: Butterflies...
« Reply #20 on: June 02, 2019, 08:21:41 AM »
This is a common error. Many of the "dead by poison" caterpillars were dead zombies yet. Poison kills the caterpillar and the parasitoid wasps that were inside many caterpillars. Result, "Y" caterpillars dead plus "20 Y" butterfly killers dead.

Unless everybody uses poison there, less wasps and more caterpillars will survive in the next years.

But If everybody uses malathion, some people will fall ill by chronic exposition. And if you just stop using poison, will suffer a exponential increase in butterflies by lack of predators the next years, forcing you to use poison again. Is a vicious circle.

I'm tired to explain this again and again, but frustrated people will do it anyway. Outraged people loves the idea of fair revenge and will spend money in tools for that.

Poison means that they are supporting, promoting, increasing the plague suffered in they own plants. Predators are hugely influential. First course of Basic ecology.
« Last Edit: July 15, 2019, 02:34:38 AM by pvaldes »

Bomand

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 564
    • LouisianaCFDFMY
    • View Profile
Re: Butterflies...
« Reply #21 on: June 02, 2019, 08:34:36 AM »
It is good that you are ecology minded. I also understand the impact of using chemical means to control pest. Lets face facts. Natural predators are in short supply for some pest. Natural predation is slow and ineffective lots of the time. The ugly catipillars are very fast when they ruin a tree. I want to stop them immediatly....and natural predation will not do it. Therefore I opt to destroy them chemically. Just think...if everhone destroyed them we would soon be rid of this pest.

pvaldes

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 134
    • Spain
    • View Profile
Re: Butterflies...
« Reply #22 on: June 02, 2019, 08:38:49 AM »
repeated, sorry

Bomand

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 564
    • LouisianaCFDFMY
    • View Profile
Re: Butterflies...
« Reply #23 on: June 02, 2019, 09:10:54 AM »
Dont be sorry. Everyone is entitled to and free to state their opinion. I respect the opinion other folks. I wish natural predation would do the job for me. If it would I would be glad to let nature take is course. Mean as mother nature is at times....she needs a little help on occasion
😉.

raggashack

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 22
    • Austria, Vienna, 6-7
    • View Profile
Re: Butterflies...
« Reply #24 on: June 03, 2019, 03:24:56 PM »
i will go with pvaldes way. i think it cant be coincidence that in europe, where ppl tend to work the organic way, are less serious pests than elsewhere.

but i also understand the opinion to sometimes help mother nature out, because its not very natural to plant citrus in pots anywhere u want, but i still think, even for these tasks the nature will find its way :D and no iam not a treehugger