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ALIASES

No aliases but my proper name is Bruchophagus fellis.

DESCRIBE YOURSELF

I am tiny, less than 3 mm in length. You will rarely see me, as I am a poor flyer and tend to get blown from tree to tree. You will, however, see my home. I’m known as citrus gall wasp cause I create a gall in the stems of citrus trees, where I lay my eggs.

KNOWN ASSOCIATES

No known associates, me and my babies make your plants look ugly enough on our own.

WHERE DO I HANG OUT

I love grapefruit, oranges, lemon and lime trees. I really love native finger limes as this was where I started my campaign from.

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU’VE BEEN MUGGED BY CITRUS GALL WASP

The first sign most gardeners notice is ugly bumps or galls on the stems of their citrus trees. These galls are formed by the trees in response to the presence of my young who are feeding. Once they appear, the galls cannot be ‘cured’ or reversed. Old galls are ugly, but they are also empty as the adult wasp has left through the tiny exit holes. Developing galls can be removed but this can mean the loss of new fruit growing at the end of the infected stem. Citrus gall is more damaging to younger citrus trees than older trees.

MODUS OPERANDI

The adult wasps mate in spring and the female lays her eggs in the citrus tree that she herself emerged from just days before. Each female can lay up to 100 eggs, usually under the bark of new shoots, and the larvae hatch after 2 to 4 weeks. The wasp larvae grow within the soft stem tissue for 9 to 12 months until they emerge as adult wasps the following year. The larvae can be already present in newly purchased citrus trees in spring.

HOW DO YOU MAKE ME FEEL UNWELCOME

At the moment it’s not easy to make me feel unwanted. The best way is to remove new galls before I hatch and therefore interrupt my lifecycle. However, unless you do this early on you could lose a lot of good fruit and, although unsightly, I am unlikely to kill your tree. The best deterrent is to attract good bugs into your garden (Good Bugs in your garden #1). Otherwise you can spray citrus leaves with organic pest oil as I hate landing on the sticky surface, so will look for another tree elsewhere. Please don’t hanging yellow sticky traps inside infected trees. The yellow is an attractant and the sticky traps are impossible for the wasp to escape, but these traps capture more beneficial insects like bees and hover flies than they catch citrus gall wasps.

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ALIASES

As well as thrips I’m also known as thunder-flies, thunder-bugs, storm flies, thunder-blights, storm bugs, corn flies, corn lice, freckle bugs, and physopods.

DESCRIBE YOURSELF

I am about 2mm long, sometimes white and yellow, but don’t mind black. We Thrips are quite slim, with lovely fringed wings! Don’t be fooled, what I lack in size I make up for in tenacity. I’m very social and usually travel with lots of other thrips as mates.

KNOWN ASSOCIATES

As I travel with lots of thrips, I tend not to need assistance from other bugs. However, other bugs may come in and attack plants that I have weakened.

WHERE DO I HANG OUT

I like most plants, but I’m really fond of tomatoes, beans, roses, azaleas and fruit trees. And I love any white, yellow or light-coloured flowers! I lay my eggs in unopened flowers, suck the sap and scrape the stems, and I love spreading viruses from plant to plant.

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU’VE BEEN MUGGED

Your plants’ leaves look white and mottled, the petals or fruit turn brown, and flower buds fall off! Late spring is my favourite time to visit your garden – just as the weather starts to warm up and your garden starts to bloom!

MODUS OPERANDI

Me and my young spend winter in the soil emerging in spring when I lay my eggs in flowers, leaves or stems. I don’t need any boys to reproduce and can lay up to 80 eggs in one sitting. I feed on plant sap and can give rise to 15 generations each year.

HOW DO YOU MAKE ME FEEL UNWELCOME

I don’t like Ladybirds or Lacewings, so if you invite them in, I’ll leave. (see Good Bugs in your garden #1) You can also annoy me by putting shiny aluminium foil around the base of plants to bounce light on the undersides of leaves. Or stop my adult friends from emerging from leaf litter in the early spring by applying a thick layer of organic mulch around susceptible plants.

Remove the damaged plants, as I also like to over winter in plant tissue or bark fissures. Destroy all infected flowers and buds and definitely don’t compost them. Throw them out – and me with them!

If I JUST WON”T LEAVE, use a home-made or commercial chilli soap spray or hit me with Neem oil spray. But be careful, as these sprays can harm friendly pollinating insects who are visiting the same flowers!

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ALIASES

No aliases though I am very similar to my relatives the slug, who do similar damage to your garden as the snail.

DESCRIBE YOURSELF

I am a bit of a nomad, travelling light and taking my shelter with me. But, rest assured, when I get to your place, if conditions are good, I tend to stay for a while. Some people say I’m slimy, but I reckon you should make up your own mind on that. I’m related to Slug and he pretty much does what I do in your garden, but he doesn’t call a shell home!

KNOWN ASSOCIATES

If conditions are right for me you will generally find my cousins, the slugs are also hanging around.

WHERE DO I HANG OUT

A moist environment, night time, cloudy days, curling up with a good egg cluster in warm months. Freshly planted seedlings are irresistible to my discerning palette. And I really love a beer – I just can’t hold it!

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU’VE BEEN MUGGED

All your newly planted seedlings, especially veggies and herbs, are munched right down to the ground. There are big holes in leaves, and shiny silver trails wherever I’ve visited!

MODUS OPERANDI

I love hanging out after dark, munching on newly planted seedlings, putting huge holes in leaves, laying trails!

HOW DO YOU MAKE ME FEEL UNWELCOME

Spray with coffee (one part espresso to ten parts water) on the plants I like to eat, and around the areas I like to travel.

Shout me a beer and lay it on its side where I am most active. I love a beer, but it’s the last thing I’ll ever drink as I’ll fall in and drown. Create obstacles with lime, cinnamon, wood shavings and sawdust around plants.

I’m not the athletic type, so any barriers will protect your vulnerable plants from my attentions. Try putting cardboard rolls from inside toilet rolls around new seedlings. Go spotlighting with a torch about two hours after sunset, and wear your gumboots for a bit of a hoedown with me. Otherwise, carry a container of strongly salted water and drop me in it. Mulch the area with some strong smelling herbs like wormwood, mint, tansy or lemon balm. And add some pine needles to stop me right in my tracks. Put some yummy citrus rind halves out for my daytime nap. If you catch me there before dark, you can squash the whole thing and throw in the compost pile.

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ALIASES

Mite, Two spotted mite.

DESCRIBE YOURSELF

Well, my closest relations are spiders, but don’t let that put you off! I’m TINY (about 0.5mm), greenish-yellow and look good in spots (two big black ones on my back). I change things a little in autumn when I look good in red – in line with the season and my common name of red spider mite.

KNOWN ASSOCIATES

As I travel with lots of mates, I tend not to need assistance from other bugs. However, other bugs may come in and attack the plants that I have weakened.

WHERE DO I HANG OUT

I adore roses, berries, azaleas, marigolds, pansies and violas and pretty much anything else in your flower garden. I also find most indoor plants irresistible, especially when humidity is kept low. In fact, hot, dry weather, with low humidity really gets me laying eggs! I go nuts in your veggie patch, especially for cucumbers, capsicums, tomatoes and beans, and I go crazy for apple and peach trees. So you can see I’m pretty much an all-around pest!

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU’VE BEEN MUGGED

Your leaves look mottled or bronze coloured, especially on the top. If I have been around for a while and breeding up a storm, the leaves might even fall off! If you look underneath the leaves, it’s a bit of a mess as we’re an untidy bunch! Have a look for my webs, so you don’t confuse me with thrips!

MODUS OPERANDI

Man, I suck… and suck, and suck! I enjoy sucking all the goodness out of your plants and I love spinning webs, and hanging out on the underside of leaves in a big group.

HOW DO YOU MAKE ME FEEL UNWELCOME

Evict me by inviting around predatory mites… they’re easy to attract, especially if you use compost, manure or mulch your soil (see Good Bugs in your garden #1)! They love this stuff and I hate them. You can even import predatory mites like mail order brides!Also, mist frequently with water as I prefer a dry environment.

If you want to spray, use home-made or commercial chilli soap sprays. You can also annoy me by spraying your plants with eco pest oil, just make sure you spray the undersides of leaves where I hang most..Just remember, any sprays will also hurt the good bugs that will help you control me!

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ALIASES

Pink hibiscus mealybug, grape mealybug, papaya mealybug, citrus mealybug

DESCRIBE YOURSELF

I’m about 4mm long, and I’m covered in a lovely layer of white powder. Although I may look harmless, I have a voracious appetite and enjoy hanging out with my mates on the cool undersides of leaves and stems.

KNOWN ASSOCIATES

I love hanging out with ants. They are my friends and help me move around from plant to plant. Ants like to feed on the honeydew I produce when I suck the sap out of plants. I’m also really good friends with Black Sooty mold. They are a bit late coming to the party, but often they are the first sign that lets people know I’ve been visiting.

WHERE DO I HANG OUT

I really love hanging out on Citrus trees like grapefruit and lemons. I also love roses, orchids, ferns, loads of ornamental plants and thrive in shade houses, where I keep warm. I love hot, humid weather… it just makes me want to breed!

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU’VE BEEN MUGGED

New growth on your plant looks weird and the plant has a sprinkling of white furry stuff on leaves. In bad infestations you can see rows of me and my mates hanging out along the veins of leaves, in the joins between branches and all up and down the stems. In autumn you will notice me around the base of trees as my friends the ants help me move south for winter.

MODUS OPERANDI

I love nothing more than sucking sap from leaves and stems! Exuding honeydew is a special talent, which encourages my friend sooty mold to grow on your plant’s leaves. I also release toxic saliva that can seriously damage your plants.

HOW DO YOU MAKE ME FEEL UNWELCOME

Encourage predatory mites. This is pretty easy, especially if you use compost, manures and mulch your soil! They love this stuff. You can also buy some predatory bugs and let them loose (see Good Bugs in your garden #1).

Spray your plants with lime sulphur over winter.Get my friends to stop coming around! Ants look after mealybugs and help them move around your plants, so try controlling ants by painting the trunks of trees with a mix of lime sulphur and diluted ceiling paint as ants don’t like walking over this.

If you want to spray, use Neem oil mixed with a few drops of vegetable oil as this will poison me as well as helping to smother me or use homemade (or commercial) pest oil made from soap and vegetable oil. Just remember when spraying any pesticides, even organic one’s, they also kill the good bugs!.

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