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Entry Date
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Nick Name
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Location
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Wednesday, July 29, 2015
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MadMike
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Easthampton, MA
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Entry 17 of 25 |
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However, I have had four flowers escape and be open in the morning. I had around a dozen bees (a small variety of bumble bee, not the domesticated European Honey Bee) between them visiting the flower. :( I killed the bees in the first flowers to prevent them from returning to the hive. Since bees share nectar and pollen within the colony, I didn't want to them to get home. But I let some of the bees go in a couple since I didn't think they were there very long.
Reading the wiki, I won't be letting anybody go home going forward.
Take home message - it's great for control (if applied properly - see vine borer woes above) but it requires a very high responsibility. Saying that, broad spectrum insecticides can be their own problem, but if spraying when flowers are closed, pollinator exposure is very low.
I am adverse to killing non-target species so I went with Imadacloprid.
I'm an entomologist by undergrad degree, so I'm a big champion of insects in general. It made it all the more painful for me to see open flowers... I'm increasing my diligence, and I thought I would share this with other growers for educational purposes.
If you have any questions about insects or pesticides, let me know. I'm happy to help. **I did pesticide training for a little while after I graduated so I'm familiar with most insecticide classes.**
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