Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum

Bulbs => Bulbs General => Topic started by: mark smyth on May 10, 2012, 11:33:09 PM

Title: Narcissus fly - 2012
Post by: mark smyth on May 10, 2012, 11:33:09 PM: Has anyone in Europe/UK/Ireland seen a Narcissus fly?

Hopefully the cold weather in the UK will keep them in their pupas
Title: Re: Narcissus fly - 2012
Post by: PeterT on May 11, 2012, 04:44:52 AM: saw one in March...... three weeks ago I moved daffodills, some bulbs were half eaten and the pupa were long gone. The damaged scales were just begining to calous (if that is the right word?)
Title: Re: Narcissus fly - 2012
Post by: Maggi Young on May 11, 2012, 10:54:33 AM: Quote from: PeterT on May 11, 2012, 04:44:52 AM
saw one in March...... three weeks ago I moved daffodills, some bulbs were half eaten and the pupa were long gone. The damaged scales were just begining to calous (if that is the right word?)

Crikey, Peter, that's not good news.

By the way.... I think the word you want is "callus" ;)
Title: Re: Narcissus fly - 2012
Post by: PeterT on May 15, 2012, 04:11:47 PM: It was in a field, - there are plenty more....
thanks for the spelling correction Maggie :-*
Title: Re: Narcissus fly - 2012
Post by: mark smyth on May 15, 2012, 04:30:41 PM: Plenty more flies or damaged bulbs?

This will be the first year my Galanthus have died back naturally. All other years I would have removed the leaves by now to stop the fly laying eggs
Title: Re: Narcissus fly - 2012
Post by: PeterT on May 15, 2012, 04:50:39 PM: bulbs, but there will be plenty more flies and damaged bulbs too.
Title: Re: Narcissus fly - 2012
Post by: Gerry Webster on May 15, 2012, 07:06:11 PM: Does the fly have any preference as between Narcissus & Galanthus?
Title: Re: Narcissus fly - 2012
Post by: PeterT on May 15, 2012, 07:12:30 PM: no just for valuable and solitary bulbs of either. It is also partial to Hippeastrum.
Title: Re: Narcissus fly - 2012
Post by: mark smyth on May 15, 2012, 08:27:35 PM: Peter are you 100% with your ID of the fly? I would have thought the bad weather in England would be holding them back.
Title: Re: Narcissus fly - 2012
Post by: PeterT on May 15, 2012, 08:30:51 PM: I know the grainy mush they leave behind and the remains of the bulb scales.
Title: Re: Narcissus fly - 2012
Post by: wooden shoe on May 15, 2012, 08:35:21 PM: It is indeed true that they prefer the most valuable cultivars. Those plants that do best in your garden, will probably have build up the best protective system for themselves. That's why they do best ;)
But those that are on the verge of their hardiness zone, have a huge flower or in some other way spends it's energy on other things than a protective system will be the most susceptible for intruders. So the slow increasers (valuable!) will have the most problems with Narcissus fly, at least that's what I found out.
In my case it's Hymenocallis festalis, which I used to plant outside during summer, which suffers the most.
Title: Re: Narcissus fly - 2012
Post by: mark smyth on May 27, 2012, 08:29:45 PM: They have arrived here and despite masses off daffs outside the gate they choose my garden grrrr