This Voracious, Unstoppable Bug Is Killing Off Vineyards

[ibglowin]

Anybody in PA seen or hear about this or know anything about it?


https://www.wired.com/story/this-voracious-unstoppable-bug-is-killing-off-vineyards/?fbclid=IwAR3QASdDa7aYEPzOJB4SQv1tkN2WGio3iPbnmT7Q-AkskiaUqQKoRGKga14

 

[ceeaton]

Anybody in PA seen or hear about this or know anything about it?


https://www.wired.com/story/this-voracious-unstoppable-bug-is-killing-off-vineyards/?fbclid=IwAR3QASdDa7aYEPzOJB4SQv1tkN2WGio3iPbnmT7Q-AkskiaUqQKoRGKga14

Yes, I do a lot of formatting of the publications that include the State laws, proposed laws etc for all the agencies and have been tracking the quarantine areas spreading for this critter. I believe at this point it has spread from a few townships in one county in 2014-15 to most of the southeast counties in the State. I saw a report of it in Dauphin County, so it's just a matter of time till it spreads across the Susquehanna River. It is one of the excuses I didn't spend the time putting grape vines in my back yard.

I'm sure all the fruit tree farmers in this area are collectively pooping their pants over this issue. If I just go north and west a few miles from my neighborhood there are acres upon acres of apples, peaches, plums, nectarines, cherries, pears etc. I figure my ability to get cheap great fruits for wine is about to go away in the next few years!

I'm hoping that the brain trust at Penn State can come up with a way to control them without spraying even more pesticides on the countryside.

 

[ibglowin]

Scary stuff for sure!

 

[efBobby]

I think I seen 1 or 2 of them on my aestivalis vine. At first I was like wth is it doing. Looked like it was dancing or something then I was like oh hell no it's trying to drill into the bark, splat!

The ones I seen seemed to be nocturnal and preferred mild, humid weather.

It appears as though it only cared about the larger vines and totally ignored all the smaller plants.

Being foreign may work for more cultivated areas but more raw areas with fruit trees and grape vines also come with MANY predators.

Finches in the day and bats at night spells a tough life for a foreign insect that doesn't know the ropes. Lol

 

[monty]

Ive seen a few of these around my house over the last two weeks. You are supposed to kill them and then report it.