Plants can be affected by a wide variety of insects that cause pests, some less severe than others. The paysandisia It is one of the most dangerous, since it can kill young specimens in a matter of a few days. What can be done to prevent it?
For now, we recommend you read this article. After finishing your reading, you will know what its characteristics are, the damages and symptoms it causes, and of course, also what measures should you take to prevent its appearance ... or to eliminate it. : )
What is it?
La Paysandisia, whose scientific name is paysandisia archon, is a lepidopteran native to Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. Sadly, it has reached Europe, where it has become naturalized, becoming one of the most devastating palm tree pests on the Old Continent.
It reaches between 75 and 110m wingspan, the females being somewhat larger than the males. They have two forewings that are olive brown on the front and orange on the back, and two rear wings are orange on the top with a black postdiscal band that has some white spots.
The eggs are fusiform and salmon-shaped. The larvae are similar in color in their first instar, but then turn whitish. It goes through nine stadiums, so the biological cycle can be annual or biannual, depending on when the egg hatches. This is deposited by the female in the palm tree, near the crown, in the summer months (and may start earlier if the weather is mild and / or warm).
What are the symptoms / damage it causes?
Once the eggs hatch, the larvae begin to feed on the palm tree, digging tunnels up to 1 meter long in the trunk. So that, the symptoms or damages that we will see are:
- Holes in the sheets, made while they were still folded.
- The guide sheet is no longer in the center.
- Appearance of exit holes in the trunk, as well as remains of the chrysalis.
- Death of the palm tree.
How is it controlled?
Preventive treatment
It is always best to prevent than to cure. For that, what we will do is treat palm trees with Chlorpyrifos and Imidacloprid. One month one and the next month the other. You have to wet the eye of the palm tree well, as well as the suckers, if any.
Apply from April to October in the northern hemisphere.
Curative treatment
If the palm tree has already been affected, then it must be injected about 2 meters from the crown of leaves Imidacloprid. The number of injections will vary depending on the diameter of the trunk, but to give you an idea the ideal is to separate them about 25cm. In addition, the height must be varied so as not to affect the plant.
It also applies from April to October, once a month.
In the event that the specimen is severely affected, it must be destroyed.
Has it been useful to you?