This secretive pest is always in the middle of currant branches, and it is very difficult to defeat it. The glass pot damages the core of the shoots, and therefore the whole plant. You can try to get rid of it with various chemical and organic means, but it is better to start with preventive measures.
This mischievous butterfly resembles a wasp in appearance with orange and blue wings. Most often, it settles on black currant bushes, but occasionally it can also be seen on gooseberries. As soon as the weather is warm, the glass pot finds small cracks on the shoots and lays eggs in them (most often in May). After about two weeks, voracious caterpillars appear, which penetrate the middle of the stem and begin to eat the plant from the inside, moving along its entire length.
You can detect the presence of a pest by cutting off one or more shoots. The cut will show a black dot in the center of the branch. The pest perfectly tolerates the winter and from year to year continues its dark business until the complete destruction of the berry culture.
You can detect the appearance of a currant glass pot by suddenly withering and drying out branches, which until recently bloomed beautifully. Inspect the sections of some of the shoots immediately. If the presence of a pest is noticed, then urgently get rid of the damaged branches - cut them to the very root and burn them.
Prevention of the appearance of currant glass
When buying and planting currant seedlings, it is necessary to carefully examine them for the presence of a pest. Be sure to inspect the cores of the cut shoots. This will keep the plant safe for the next few years. The planting material must be absolutely healthy.
The next preventive step is to plant elderberry bushes near the currant. This plant repels many pests, including glass. But the scent of bird cherry will cause a backlash from a harmful butterfly, so make sure that this tree is not nearby.
The harsh aromas of some plants will also keep the pest away from the currant bushes. Vegetable crops (garlic, onion) and some flowers (calendula, marigolds, nasturtium) can be planted directly between berry plantings. Their smell will not allow the currant bush to be found in the glass, and she will not be able to breed her offspring there.
Fighting currant glass
If you are a little late with preventive measures, and the glass case has already appeared on the site, then you need to urgently start a fight with it.
Complete destruction of the pest is almost impossible. Young caterpillars very quickly penetrate into the currant branches, and it is very difficult to stop them at this moment, but it is still worth trying. Even if their number decreases by eighty percent, it will also be a small victory.
During the transition of the caterpillar to the pupa, most of them are forced to leave their safe home inside the berry shoot. This moment cannot be missed, as there is a real opportunity to get rid of the hidden pest. This usually happens from the beginning of May to the end of June.It is during these days and weeks that it is necessary to loosen the soil under the currant bushes and mix tobacco dust and wood ash into it.
Regular and timely pruning of berry bushes is of great importance. It is held in every season, except for the winter one. It is necessary to rid the plant of branches affected by the pest in time. On young shoots, only the damaged parts need to be trimmed, and the old ones are best trimmed to soil level.
In springtime, pruning should be done twice. The first - in early spring, for sanitary and rejuvenating purposes, and the second - when the buds open. During the second pruning, branches with wilted leaves will already be clearly visible, and they must be removed without fail.
If the entire currant bush is infected, then it is necessary to cut off all the shoots to ground level. The remaining roots will give new young and healthy shoots, which will have to be tried to be protected by various preventive measures.
Repeated pruning of bushes significantly reduces the number of glassworms and their larvae. But the most reliable and effective method of dealing with a currant pest is considered to be spraying with chemical or biological products. Specialized stores and pharmacies offer a wide variety of pest control products:
- Fitverm - add 6 milliliters of liquid to 3 liters of water.
- "Lepidocide" - 5 liters of water will require 10-15 grams of the drug.
- "Akarin" - add 4 milliliters of the product to 2 liters of water.
- "Bitoxibacillin" - about 10 grams of the drug will be required for 1 liter of water.
The first spraying of the bushes should be carried out with the beginning of the appearance of the first leaves. This is the most optimal time, since during this period the appearance of caterpillars occurs, which are on the surface of the shoots. Only at this moment can the pest be caught and destroyed as much as possible.
Spray currant bushes abundantly. Each bush should take about 1-1.5 liters of the prepared solution. The repeated water procedure should be carried out in about 10-15 days. It will not be superfluous to spray the raspberry bushes at the same time. It is on the crimson bushes that adult glass butterflies find their food.
