Viewing post #2757146 by NMoasis

You are viewing a single post made by NMoasis in the thread called Mystic Spires Salvia Bloom Problems.
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Jun 17, 2022 9:59 AM CST
Name: Zoƫ
Albuquerque NM, Elev 5310 ft (Zone 7b)
Bee Lover Salvias Region: New Mexico Herbs Container Gardener Composter
Cat Lover Butterflies Bookworm Birds Enjoys or suffers hot summers
If you look closely you'll see that it's infested with numerous small caterpillars. Not sure what they are other than larvae of a moth that lay eggs in immature buds. The larvae eat the insides of the buds, destroying or disfiguring the flowers, and crawl out through a tiny hole and at some point create that sort of webbing that is visible in your photos. I've probably got the mechanics all mixed up but I get them on salvia sometimes. Remove and destroy all infested flowers, watch buds and squish all that you can see. If an individual bud has a tiny hole, a caterpillar should be present. You could try an insecticidal soap, but not in the heat of the day.

Maybe someone else can actually identify this particular pest!

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