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Big insects on rhubarb
Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 6:43 am
by goldilox
Help! I've got loads of brown beetle-like things on my rhubarb - they're sort of flattish with a pointed head end and they're making brown marks on all the leaves. Anyone know what they are
Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 7:13 am
by oldherbaceous
Dear golgilox, they sound like Vine weevils to me, if you google that name you should be able to find a picture of them to check.
Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 7:45 am
by Johnboy
Hi Goldilox,
From your description almost sure that they are Weevils but they are the wrong colour for Vine Weevils which are black in colour. It may be best to Google just Weevils.
JB.
Re: Big insects on rhubarb
Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 8:57 pm
by Parsons Jack
goldilox wrote:Help! I've got loads of brown beetle-like things on my rhubarb - they're sort of flattish with a pointed head end and they're making brown marks on all the leaves. Anyone know what they are
The rhubarb curculio, a rusty snout beetle about 3/4 inch long, can, on occasion, cause serious damage to the leafstalks. Taken from this link which contains a bit more information.
http://www.allotments-uk.com/forum/topi ... IC_ID=4122
Hope this helps a bit.
Parsons Jack.
Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 9:18 am
by goldilox
Thanks all - have had a good look round on the web but mine don't look like vine weevils or rhubarb curculio. They're flatter, sort of waisted and under the wings they're a bronze colour in the sun. They also have feelers. They don't seem to be touching the stems at all, just the leaves.
Maybe if I spray the leaves with essence of chilli (home made - chopped chillies blitzed with water in the blender) they won't like the taste any more
Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 9:39 am
by Johnboy
Hi Goldilox,
If your preparation of chopped chillies works be sure to come back and tell us, Don't make it a secret.
Sincerely,
JB.
Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 6:58 pm
by goldilox
Will do - haven't actually sprayed them yet, I was waiting for reactions. Thought I might get shock horror aaaargh, you can't do that!
Incidentally, it certainly keeps the cat from chewing electrical cables
Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 7:57 pm
by heyjude
Any views on whether chillies would stop mice chewing cables?
Nothing to lose by giving it a try!
Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 10:55 am
by goldilox
Just thought I'd let you know how I got on with the chilli spray. The first application didn't seem to do much, but think the solution was a bit too dilute. Made some more a bit stronger, and after the second application I can't find any on the plants at all
It's either worked . . . or they were going anyway
Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 12:42 pm
by Johnboy
Hi Goldilox,
Are the Rhubarb plants still there?
JB.
Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 9:22 pm
by goldilox
Err, just about
Visited a friend today, and her rhubarb has the same brown spots all over the leaves. Not an insect in sight - maybe it was just time for them to move on. She didn't know if there'd been any insects as she'd just returned from UK.
Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 1:09 pm
by WigBag
Restarted this post as it may be linked to a discovery on my rhubarb.
On the lottie this morning I was harvesting some rhubarb and I discovered some gel near the base. It was crystal clear and did not look like seperate eggs all together, but very much like the hair gel that my offspring have used. On further inspection there were smaller dollops on various stems but always the large amounts were near the base.
The stems were looking a bit sad, but initially I took it to be the sign that I need to let it rest. On closer inspection it might have been due to some action upon it but I could see no culprits
Anyone else noticed this?