Cabbage fly: photo and description of a two-winged garden pest

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The spring cabbage fly, despite its harmless appearance, causes a lot of trouble for gardeners. The pest is capable of causing serious damage to cruciferous vegetables in a short time - cabbage, radish, radish, swede.

Content

Cabbage fly: description and development cycle of the pest
Types of cabbage flies
Signs of a pest in the area
- What plants are affected by the cabbage fly
Ways to deal with cabbage fly
Prevention and protection of the plant from the attack of the cabbage fly

Cabbage fly: description and development cycle of the pest

The insect belongs to the family of flower flies and is outwardly very similar to ordinary flies, but upon closer examination, differences are noticeable - a dark stripe on the abdomen and 3 longitudinal stripes on the chest. The length of the males is 5-5,5 cm, the females are slightly longer - 6-6,5 cm. The color is light or light gray, the wings are transparent.

Cabbage fly.

All stages of the pest life cycle:

egg;
larva;
pupa;
imago (adult).

The mass flight of flies begins in late spring, when the soil warms up, and the average daily temperature reaches +18 degrees. A few days after emergence, the flies begin to actively mate, and a week later, the females begin to lay eggs. For oviposition, flies choose places near the neck of the plant on the soil or in the lower part of cabbage leaves.

It is noted that pests prefer only well-strengthened plants, since the lack of moisture negatively affects the development of embryos - it slows down their growth, and in some cases leads to their death. The eggs are white, oval-elongated. Usually females lay eggs in groups of 2-3. In total, an insect can lay 100-150 eggs in its entire life.

Larvae (root worms) appear after 4-6 days. Individuals have a worm-like shape, their body length is about 8 mm., The color is white or yellowish. Worms penetrate deep into the soil and bite into the root system of the plant, leaving only the tap root intact. Inside the root or tuber, the pests develop within 20-30 days, feed on the juices of the plant and gnaw through numerous passages.

In the course of their development, the larvae undergo 3 molts, after which they pass to the pupal stage, during the winter period they live in this state. With the advent of heat, adults emerge from the pupae, which do not pose a direct danger to plants and feed on pollen.

Types of cabbage flies

Cabbage flies are usually divided into 2 types: summer and spring. Both varieties are described in detail below.

spring cabbage fly

Males and females are ash-colored, but females are somewhat lighter. Representatives of this species wake up en masse from hibernation in late April - early May. Starting from the second half of the last month of spring and until its end, females lay eggs (about 100 pieces in their entire life) and larvae appear in early June. The development of the larva takes 3-4 weeks, all this time it actively feeds on the roots of crops, spoiling the roots and stems.

summer cabbage fly

Outwardly, these insects are not too different from their relatives, but there is still a difference. The body color has a slightly yellowish tint, the wings are transparent, but also with a hint of yellowness. Also, summer flies are somewhat larger than spring flies - the size of an adult is about 8 mm. Summer skits wake up 4 weeks later than spring ones, so medium and late varieties of cabbage become food for them.

Signs of a pest in the area

As mentioned above, adults do not pose a danger to crops, the main damage is caused by larvae and pupae. The pest has a small size, so it is not always possible to notice it on plants. In order to take timely measures to combat the parasite, it is necessary to focus on the time of their massive emergence and the timing of the development of larvae.

You can suspect infection by the following symptoms:

color change of cabbage from green to pale lead;
growth retardation;
wilting of leaves.

What plants are affected by the cabbage fly

The cabbage fly infects plants of the cruciferous family.

These cultures include:

cabbage;
radish;
turnip;

colza;
swede;
mustard.

Ways to deal with cabbage fly

The most effective method of pest control is prevention, but if it has already appeared, then agricultural methods, insecticides and folk recipes will help to cope with it.

Agricultural method

The agrotechnical methods of control include the following.

Compliance with the rules of crop rotation	You can not plant cabbage in the same place as last year, as well as in areas where other cruciferous plants were grown.
deep tillage	This should be done immediately after harvest. Thanks to this event, most of the pupae in the soil will be destroyed.
Stump removal	This should be done, as larvae can hide in this part of the vegetable.
Topsoil renewal	Larvae and pupae hide in the soil, at a depth of no more than 5 cm. If you remove this layer and put fresh soil in its place, you can get rid of a significant part of the parasites. This should be done in early summer, before planting crops.
Creating artificial obstacles for oviposition	For the stem of the plant, a paper circle with a diameter of 15 cm is cut out, put on the stem and pressed to the ground. Thus, the fly will not be able to lay eggs at the root of the plant, they will be on paper and burn out in the sun.

Application of insecticides

The use of chemicals gives good results, but it should be understood that they cannot be completely safe, as they accumulate in the soil in a small amount.

Aktellik

9.4

Details

Carbophos

9.3

Details

Chemifos

9.2

Details

Aktellik

Produced in the form of a liquid for the preparation of a solution.

Expert rating:

9.4

The contents of the ampoule are dissolved in 2 liters. water. The resulting solution is enough to process 10 sq.m. vegetation or 2-5 trees.

pros

works even in hot weather;
low price;
fast action.

Cons

strong unpleasant odor;
high consumption rate.

Carbophos

Available in different forms: liquid, powder or ready-made solution.

Expert rating:

9.3

Instructions are provided for each form of release.

pros

remains effective for 2 months;
low toxicity to humans;
easy to use.

Cons

the risk of developing resistance of insects to the components of the drug.

Chemifos

It is produced in the form of a liquid for the preparation of a working solution.

Expert rating:

9.2

The drug consumption is up to 50 ml/m2.

pros

high efficiency;
low toxicity to humans.

Cons

addictive parasites.

Folk remedies

In addition to chemicals, you can use folk recipes. They are less effective than insecticides, but are absolutely safe for humans and animals.

The following methods are known

Manganese solution	Wash the seedlings of cruciferous crops with a light pink solution of manganese on the day of planting in a permanent place. Pests will not attack plants treated in this way.
Birch tar	1 tbsp dilute tar in 10 l. water and mix thoroughly. Spray the cultures with the resulting solution at intervals of 9 days. The cabbage fly does not tolerate the smell of tar, so treated plants will be bypassed.
Sal ammoniac	Pests do not tolerate the smell of ammonia. To prepare a plant protection agent, mix 5 ml. ammonia and 10 l. water. Plantings are treated with the resulting solution.
Naphthalene or tobacco dust	Substances need to be scattered on beds with cruciferous crops. A specific smell will make them leave the plantings.

Prevention and protection of the plant from the attack of the cabbage fly

Preventing a pest from multiplying in a garden is much easier than removing it. It is recommended to use the following preventive measures:

growing seedlings in peat cups - such plants are less susceptible to attack by pests;
harvesting plant residues - pests can continue to develop in them, therefore, after harvesting, it is necessary to get rid of all garbage;
when sowing seeds, do not use the earth from the garden or carefully ignite it - this will destroy the eggs and larvae of pests;
constantly loosen the soil in the root zone of cabbage and get rid of all weeds in a timely manner.

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