Wasp and Bee Management in Grapes

Wasp and Bee
Management on Grapes
Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, PhD
NYSIPM Program, Cornell University
Photo by Davidh-j, Flickr.com
Wasps and bees
• Order Hymenoptera – ants, wasps, bees
• Most important group of insects to humans
• Nearly all wasps, bees and ants are
beneficial in some way
– Predators of other (unwanted) insects
– Pollinators of most types of plants, except
grasses.
– Ant tunnels aerate soils and allow water
penetration.
The problems with wasps and
bees
• Females have a venomous sting that can
injure or even kill a person (rare).
• Sugar-hungry wasps and bees can cause
damage to fruit crops, including small fruits
and grapes.
• Late-season damage is caused and
exacerbated by wasp/bee feeding.
• No labeled pesticides for wasps or bees.
Damage from wasp feeding
OMAFRA
Thomas Quine
Diagnostics – know what insect
you’re seeing
University of Wisconsin
D. Riggs
Purdue University
S. Ellis
Of concern to grape growers
• Yellowjackets
• Paper wasps
• Bald faced hornets
• European hornets
• Bumble bees
German and Eastern
yellowjackets
W. Cranshaw, Bugwood.org
Yellowjacket or honey bee?
• Do you carry one
of these?
Yellowjackets vs. paper wasps
1. Leg length
2. Shape of abdomen
Subterranean yellowjacket
colonies
• 2,000-5,000 wasps per
colony
• Rabbit, woodchuck, fox, rat
and mouse burrows
• Fence post holes
• Old stumps
Yellowjacket nest combs
Will be found:
• On buildings
• In shrubs
• In wall voids
• In unused equipment or
vehicles
• In greenhouses
• Attics
• Dead hollow trees
• Beneath AC units
Visible nest “ball”
What is the difference between these two?
Baldfaced
hornet
100-400 workers per colony
Baldfaced hornets are aggressive
• Images from
www.homegrownonahobbyfarm.com
Visible paper comb, no wrapping
• If you find a nest with
a visible comb, it is
paper wasps
(Polistes).
• Usually found in
protected areas,
eaves, under
flashing, under
porches, railings..
Nests are
not always
in protected
locations.
Polistes paper wasps
• Several dozen
workers per nest
at most.
• More nests per
acre.
• Aggressive when
bothered.
• Feed on softbodied insects.
European Hornet – Vespa crabro
European hornet nest
• 200-400
workers per
colony,
typically.
• Nest in old
buildings or
hollow trees.
• Difficult to
locate.
European hornet compared to
the eastern yellowjacket
Could also be…
Cicada killer wasps
Could also be…
Ground-nesting
bees
If you find this:
Call a beekeeper!!
Early season foraging
• Heavily reliant on predation of other
insects.
A. Hinterworth – Bugguide.net
Tom Murray – Bugguide.net
Some social wasps are
scavengers
Yellowjackets
Baldfaced hornets
European hornets
Kevin Bell, Leigh, Lancashire UK
Late season
• Colony structure deteriorates as queen
declines.
• Food preference becomes solely sugarbased for energy and survival.
Management of wasps
• Manage the crop to reduce injury that
attracts wasps.
• Locate and manage wasp nests in and
near the vineyard.
Management is dependent on
good IPM practices
• Healthy grapes are less susceptible.
• Be familiar with varieties and vineyards
that are most susceptible to wasps.
– Certain locations may have more nests
– Old buildings
– Dead trees, stumps
– Wildlife burrows
• Work harvest dates around the most
susceptible vines.
Vineyard sanitation is key for
most pests
Good IPM practices
• Minimize injury to grapes caused by birds,
grape berry moth, powdery mildew and
bunch rots.
• Grape clusters should be picked as soon
as they ripen to discourage wasp feeding.
• Remove any overripe or damaged fruit
from the grapevines.
• Insecticides are not an effective
management option for wasps.
Manage wasps at the nest
• Scout early and often, activity is noticeable
in mid-summer.
• Destroy all nests that are found.
• Ground nests or void nests – DeltaDust
• Aerial or paper wasp nests – any aerosol
labeled for wasps (such as Wasp Freeze).
Honey bee
Managing paper wasps
• Early season management of nesting
(knock down) discourages nest building
later in the season.
A simple way to stop nest
building early.
A bit too silly?
Aerial nests can be tricky
• Can be very high in a
tree, still worth getting.
• Power washer or fire
hose water stream will
knock it down (wear
protective clothing!)
• If lower, a shop-vac
works well!
Honey bee
High capacity pressure washer
Vacuum a wall-void nest
Trapping wasps
• Trapping wasps may help lower the
damage on grapes.
• Trapping needs to be started early and
maintained through harvest.
• Commercial or homemade traps are
available.
• Early season – protein
• Late season – sweet liquids
Make a yellowjacket trap
• Plastic dish pan or wash
basin.
• A tablespoon of liquid dish
soap, preferably non-scented
• 3 sticks about 13 inches long
• 2 or 3 tie wires
• A 3 or 4 inch piece of wire
• 12 inches of string
• A piece of raw fish
This works early in the season
due to YJ attraction to protein
Soda bottle wasp trap
Fill with
•
•
•
•
•
orange soda,
cheap fruit punch,
Mountain Dew,
beer,
pineapple juice
Clean it 3x/week!!
Perimeter trapping
Honey bee
Other management options
• Perimeter of building may have holes,
gaps, or a history of wasp/bee problems.
• Keep an eye out
while doing other
perimeter
treatments.
• Deal with activity
early in the
season.
Risks to workers
• Protective clothing for workers
• Always have an Epi-Pen available in case
someone reacts
• Consider mechanical harvesting
Pesticides
• Late season spraying is not feasible.
• No pesticides labeled for wasps on
grapes.
• Pesticide-laced baits are illegal and a bad
idea (non-targets, esp. honey bees).
Wasps carry local yeasts
• Our new field guide
“Wasp and Bee
Management; A
Common-Sense
Approach”
• Available at:
http://palspublishing.ca
ls.cornell.edu/
Questions?
• Contact us: jlg23@cornell.edu
• www.nysipm.cornell.edu
• Thank you!