I agree with this, it seems HC has a very thin skin, is prone to small splits in the skin that is exploited by the hornets,sometimes a small patch of sunburn that HC is known for. The sweetness and juicyness has a lot to do with this, they almost never bother hard tart apples like Jonathan, The public wants sweet apples,that's what sells. That's probably why this hasn't been a problem before, untill HC there weren't many really sweet types, and so juicy. Lee Elliott, Apple Hill of Scott co. Illinois
--- On Sun, 9/4/11, Fleming, William <w...@montana.edu> wrote: From: Fleming, William <w...@montana.edu> Subject: Re: [apple-crop] Hornets and Honey Crisp To: "Apple-crop discussion list" <apple-crop@virtualorchard.net> Date: Sunday, September 4, 2011, 11:20 AM I’m not an entomologist and can’t speak for all wasps but can tell you my experiences. 1) Sounds like you have bald faced hornets. They usually aren’t very aggressive unless you get very close to their nest then watch out, they can be very nasty. Their nests are a hazard to workers and should be removed from trees. Just spray some aerosol wasp and hornet killer up though the hole in the bottom of their nest at night when they’re all home, no need to spray the entire orchard or remove nests outside of the orchard. 2) I don’t know of any wasp or hornet that will make holes in fruit to feed. They feed from a hole made by birds or other insects. 3) Most wasps are carnivores that feed on other insects for most of their life and are one of the best beneficial insects around. Leave them alone. It’s only in the later part of the summer that they feed on sugars in order to prepare for the overwintering generation. Due a unusually cold, wet spring in my parts we had a very poor wasp season. It also has been one of the most damaging aphid years I have ever seen. I personally believe the two are directly related. Bill Fleming Montana State University Western Ag Research Center Corvallis, Montana From: apple-crop-boun...@virtualorchard.net [mailto:apple-crop-boun...@virtualorchard.net] On Behalf Of lee elliott Sent: Saturday, September 03, 2011 3:20 AM To: apple-crop@virtualorchard.net Subject: [apple-crop] Hornets and Honey Crisp My HC's are devastated by hornets again this year, about 25% have holes,hornets feeding, they only like the sweet apples,not even touching Jonathan, have found two nests and torched them, these are black with white markings, I'm thinking I will spray my rows (after picking) with Pounce to kill the ones feeding, maybe they will take some back to the nests. I have some Nox Out I've tried with cat food bait but little effect, I wonder if a person could watch them and find their nests? Does anyone have any ideas? These pests are never even mentioned in the spray books. They are a big problem in growing HC, they attack way before coloring or ripening. Lee Elliott, Apple Hill of Scott Co. Illinois -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ apple-crop mailing list apple-crop@virtualorchard.net http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop
_______________________________________________ apple-crop mailing list apple-crop@virtualorchard.net http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop
