DOnt think they released in the south island. Must have moved by cuttings?
It is Christchurch, now middle of May – Cold but clear.
The evidence of Weevil is in on my ‘new’ buddleia. I did not have a problem on my davidii (‘Summer lilac’) until I planted a Buddleja globosa (Buddleja × weyeriana ‘Sungold’ )?) and a white ‘Morning Mist’.
I am not sure how soon the North island distribution was intended make its presence felt here, but it seems I have the weevil the city now.
Barry P. Christchurch.
I am very sad to say that my Buddleias (Blockhouse Bay, Auckland) have just succumbed to Cleopus japonicus, the buddleia leaf weevil.
Yukh! They are disgusting, slimy little things all over the leaves and my plants looki absolutely horrible. This insect was introduced into NZ to control Buddleias in the wild – B. davidii has become a serious pest in some parts of our native bush (forest). But NOT MY GARDEN!!!
I knew it would arrive sooner or later. Guess I’ll have to take some of the steps that Norm suggests above.
Jacqui
Yes your correct, I had a look and the plants are alternatives for growing and some attract bees not butterflies, there was a note at the end of the email that said she didn’t know if they would be suitable for butterfly. I have found this one recommended though for the monarch and it is Hebe stricta koromiko. There are some alternatives for monarchs on an American site as buddleia is a problem there also unfortunately couldn’t find them online in nz. Kay
I haven’t seen any buddleia weevil in the Manawatu yet, but confess I haven’t been looking for them either. I enjoy the buddleias here immensely and so do the butterflies and moths, however there are many other nectar plants around for butterflies moths and bees. I will welcome the weevil eventually here, as the long term plan is for the native trees to take over and shade out the buddleia. In the meantime I religiously dead-head the buddleia. I have seen what buddleia is doing to our braided riverbeds and streams. Buddleia should go and if we care much about our local biomes we will see it off. For those of us living in the urban environment it is too easy to forget what our escapees can do once they begin to enfringe on our native forests, forest margins, riverbeds and ravines.
I’ve never seen any butterflies on kaka beak (Clianthus puniceus), Garrya elliptica (silk tassel bush) or Correa pulchella salmon. All are lovely plants though, but so different from buddleia it is hard to see any of them as substitutes for buddleia in any setting. Clianthus (Kaka beak) has fabulous flowers loved by our native birds and is host to the larvae of a leafminer moth. Garrya eliptica has a quiet oriental beauty and sheds tons of pollen which is a primary food source for many of our beneficial insects. Corrya is just lovely to look at and is hard to beat for a low hedge in a dry shaded area.
Can’t say I’ve seen butterflies on kaka beak (Clianthus puniceus), Garrya elliptica (silk tassel bush) or Correa pulchella salmon – but Koromiko and other Hebes can be great.
Has anyone had any experience of these?
Jacqui
The substitutes recommended for buddleia from scion are:
kaka beak, koromiko, garrya elliptica(silk tassel bush), correa pulchella salmon.
Reply from Scion
Hi Kay,
I am sorry to hear about your garden Buddleja and I will tell you what I can about the situation. Here at Scion the only control methods we specialise are biological controls, so I am unable to recommend any insecticides and your best bet for that will be talking to garden shop staff. If there is nothing available that will not harm other species of insects, you can help to decrease the weevil population by hand-picking adults and larvae off the foliage and killing them by placing them in the freezer for several days.
Extensive host testing was done on Cleopus japonica and there are no other suitable hosts in New Zealand. Therefore if their food source begins to become scarce (the goal), the weevil population will also decrease. I realise this is unfortunate for garden growers of Buddleja, but it is a highly invasive plant and is considered a problem weed in NZ particularly in pine plantations
There is more but it is probably going to go over the max length
My treatment of Cleopus japonicas in the first instance was to daily visit the Buddelia and spend 10 minutes squishing all the larvae, weevils and cocoons of the beastie I could see, sometimes cutting the leaf off if it had numerous larvae on it. While not eradicating the pest it at least it keeps the numbers down. Then when the flowering had finished I gave the bush a spray with Maverick, after dusk as Darren suggested to avoid other beneficial insects. I am not an insecticide person but sometimes one has to take such measures or put up with the problem. This killed off the larvae and weevils, at least those that did not take flight, but does not affect the cocoons, which are usually on the underside of the leaves, and more weevils eventually emerge. At that stage, usually about late autumn, I gave the bush its annual prune, and ruthlessly cut the branches down to within half a metre of the ground, all the offcut going into the greenwaste bin. The following spring sees the bush exploding with vigorous growth, but by summer signs of more weevil infestation becomes apparent, so the process starts over again.
Unfortunately there is no quick fix solution and vigilance necessary. The scientists certainly chose an effective bio-control agent with this one.
Im not going to use maverick or any other insecticide, there is no guarantee that it wont be toxic to butterflies, bees and other beneficial insects. The person at the garden centre said yes it is less toxic the next day, however still contains toxin for these insects, butterflies. May not kill them outright, however can cause other problems. Looking for safer alternative
Going from that information 300 adults were released 3 yrs ago 66kms from waipukurau. Going by the amount here they’ve certainly multiplied no problem. Easy transfer since the adults fly.
I guess now they are here they will continue working there way down the line. See whether they answer the email I sent. Thanks Jaquie
More information:
http://www.nzpps.org/journal/64/nzpp_641550.pdf
Don’t have time to read it but if you pick up something useful in the article please post it here.
On his website, Darren ( a keen gardener) recommends:
“At least there is a solution in Mavrik. It is very low toxicity to non-invertebrates, and it wont bother bees if you spray at dusk after the bees have finished work for the day. By the next day it has dried and won’t affect them at all. I can’t see any reason why the same wouldn’t be true for butterflies. Just don’t plant your buddlejas next to your swanplants and watch out for spray drift.”
http://dgedye.wordpress.com/a-beginners-guide-to-butterfly-gardening/butterfly-garden-pests-predators-and-diseases/cleopus-japonicus/
I’ve emailed the bio company scion, see what they say.
Yes thanks tramp apparently the spray works but at the cost of the bees. Im wondering whether there is a natural alternative. I’ve tied rosemary sprigs around one plant as an experiment, also taken off as many leaves as I can see the larvae on. Maybe garlic? Maybe crazy? Information is confused, some sites say that to can be harmful to other insects while others say not.
Cleopus japonicus This slug type pest has been in the BOP for 3 years plus some of the Buddleias have survived I think if we give the plants an insect spray when the Buddleias is not in flower the plants could survive . There is also a weevil that also attaches the roots perhaps from the green slug. Worth a try Tramp.
Our buddleias are under attack as well.
The yellow Buddleia has been hardest hit and not willing to spray them.
Hope Norm has an idea we can use.
Cheers
Charlotte
And my 3 metres buddleia is under attack that I doubt it ever flower.
Hello Kay – Norm has had C. japonicus on his Buddleias for a few years and (I hope I have my facts right) is managing to live with them… let’s hope he reads this message and has the time to share his wisdom with us.
Jacqui
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