1
point
Gooseberry 'Captivator' with grubs

Gooseberry    Grafton Australia

We have found small green caterpillars inside the leaf tips on the Captivator variety of Gooseberry. The grubs have stuck the leaf tips together with silk webbing.
The plants are in Melbourne (temperate climate/Spring). We are planning to plant a crop in Northern NSW, near Grafton, which is of course a different zone (semi-tropical, summer rains) so these are a test batch to observe and learn from.
If anyone is able to identify the grubs (and perhaps advise if they are likely to occur in different climate zone) that would be appreciated.
I have attached 2 photos

cheers, Karen & Tim


Posted by: Karen Goodall (2 points) Karen Goodall
Posted: October 2, 2014


David Hughes commented,
great details, thanks, Only one photo was uploaded.
over 9 years ago.

Damian commented,
This is a great video series of Dr Elaine Ingham, she talks about the life in the soil and how it works. From my experience it's very easy to understand and to use which means lots of time and money saved, Here's the link to sign up: http://soilfoodwebcourse.com/reg/?p=D... Don't worry it's free!
over 9 years ago.



Answers

1
point
I believe that those are leafrollers. They are larvae of tortricid moths such as the Orange tortrix Argyrotaenia franciscana. The larvae spin webs and using them to roll the leaves into a nice little nook for them to hide away in. They aren't really a problem unless they are present in damaging numbers and/or are damaging the fruit. There are a couple of options fro control if you believe that they are damaging their fruit. You could spray a chemical insecticide or you could try an application of Bacillus thuringiensis. Chemical sprays are best performed pre-bloom. The latter product is a bacteria that will kill the caterpillars but not cause any death of beneficial insects.

As far as the new location, I'm not 100% but I do think it is likely that they will also be present in Northern NSW. We will try to find out more for you.


Posted by: Lindsay McMenemy (4 points) Lindsay McMenemy
Posted: October 2, 2014


Karen Goodall commented,
thankyou so much Lindsay for your prompt and comprehensive answer, apologies for my slow response, just finding my way around this wonderful website. this sort of thing is where the internet becomes a great tool. I'm going to try putting up more images of plants I can't identify and look forward to someone answering :) Karen & Tim
over 9 years ago.



You need to log in if you'd like to add an answer or comment.
Heart Heart icon