Syagrus and Grasshoppers?

[Dartolution]

Over the last 3 years or so of having a queen palm in a pot, and one experimental "silver queen" in the ground, I have noticed that during summer they seem to attract grasshoppers (the big ones) moreso than anything else. My tiny backyard is full of plant material, but they always go for the queens. 

I have not noticed any other pest issue, but grasshoppers for some reason LOVE the leaflets of the queens I have. 

 

Out of curiosity, has anyone else experienced this? What about those who have queens in the landscape? 

If so, what have you done to control their voracious appetites? 

 

 

[Bill H2DB]

I assume that you are referring to Lubbers .They are Eating Machines .   Death is the only short term solution.      That prevents those particular individuals from breeding and producing the 

next generation .  Knock them down , and stomp them quickly .     Ants love the meal  .

   In the Spring , when the new herd emerges ( they emerge in little herds , and are easy to spot in the mornings ) , they are smaller , and black / yellow , and at that stage they can be controlled with insecticide , but as soon as they begin to take on the adult , more yellowish color , they are nearly impossible to kill except by physical means .

   They do seem drawn to plants that have long thin leaves and leaflets.   During the first part of Summer , I am constantly scanning for them . I have made a real reduction in the local 

population by killing the and interrupting the breeding cycle , but it has taken a few years . 

[Dartolution]

I had to look those up. These aren't the black lubbers - they are green and brown. Perhaps locusts? 

The black easter lubbers you may be talking about thankfully do not plague my area. (Or at least I haven't seen them). 

[Fusca]

I've got the same issue and they seem to prefer Livistona decora and castor bean leaves.  Wasn't a problem the past 4 years - must have something to do with the unusually wet late spring/early summer we had here.

[Silas_Sancona]

17 minutes ago, Dartolution said:

I had to look those up. These aren't the black lubbers - they are green and brown. Perhaps locusts? 

The black easter lubbers you may be talking about thankfully do not plague my area. (Or at least I haven't seen them). 

 Take a picture or two..  Doubt it would be a Locust sp. since none are native to North America ( aside from one that went extinct around 1902 )

Spinosad would be the only thing i can think of that would control them, though it can take several days to kill adults. Is also toxic to bees unfortunately.

9 minutes ago, Fusca said:

I've got the same issue and they seem to prefer Livistona decora and castor bean leaves.  Wasn't a problem the past 4 years - must have something to do with the unusually wet late spring/early summer we had here.

Yep,  like most other critters, you'll almost always have a population boom cycle after extended wet conditions, esp. if there had been a long drought before hand.. You name it, our wet summer is bringing it out atm.

[Dartolution]

1 hour ago, Silas_Sancona said:

 Take a picture or two..  Doubt it would be a Locust sp. since none are native to North America ( aside from one that went extinct around 1902 )

Spinosad would be the only thing i can think of that would control them, though it can take several days to kill adults. Is also toxic to bees unfortunately.

Yep,  like most other critters, you'll almost always have a population boom cycle after extended wet conditions, esp. if there had been a long drought before hand.. You name it, our wet summer is bringing it out atm.

@Silas_Sancona I just shewed 3 big ones off of the queen palm on the patio. They are mostly green with dark brown wings. Ill try to get a picture of one soon (they don't stay gone for long).

Spinosad is exactly what I doused the cannas and queen with yesterday. They've been gnawing away at them since yesterday still. 

Thankfully the bees stay away from the queen. I only apply spinosad after they've gone to rest for the night. I was under the impression that once it dries its okay. 

I usually routinely (once a month minimum) spray neem oil around particularly susceptible plants and the lawn through the year at dark. This has helped me keep all of our pest pressures in check - especially aphids, however this year there has been a shortage of the neem oil product I prefer to use and I haven't been applying it hardly at all. 

Do you think directly squirting them with pyrethrin would do any good?

 

[Dartolution]

Was able to catch one and get another picture and compare it to what's online. 

These appear to be Schistocerca obscura.

 

 

 

[Silas_Sancona]

3 minutes ago, Dartolution said:

@Silas_Sancona I just shewed 3 big ones off of the queen palm on the patio. They are mostly green with dark brown wings. Ill try to get a picture of one soon (they don't stay gone for long).

Spinosad is exactly what I doused the cannas and queen with yesterday. They've been gnawing away at them since yesterday still. 

Thankfully the bees stay away from the queen. I only apply spinosad after they've gone to rest for the night. I was under the impression that once it dries its okay. 

I usually routinely (once a month minimum) spray neem oil around particularly susceptible plants and the lawn through the year at dark. This has helped me keep all of our pest pressures in check - especially aphids, however this year there has been a shortage of the neem oil product I prefer to use and I haven't been applying it hardly at all. 

Do you think directly squirting them with pyrethrin would do any good?

 

Pretty sure Pyrethrin would kill any sprayed.. but wouldn't work on others that come around later ( unless sprayed when seen )

Spinosad supposedly takes a few days to effect larger hoppers so what you're seeing ( in that they aren't dropping right away. ) makes sense. 

Was reading there is some fungus used in other countries that effectively controls Grasshoppers / Swarming Grasshoppers / doesn't hurt other things inc. Bees  but don't think it's available here in the states yet.. Apparently also takes some time to be effective, like other bio- controls.

Do see there is a product called Botanigard ES on Planet Natural's site that supposedly also contains a fungus that can kill grasshoppers and other listed pest insects.  Here's a description of the product:   https://www.planetnatural.com/product/botanigard-es-insecticide/   Never tried it myself so can't give a review..

There's also a PDF listing what bugs this product supposedly controls.

[Dartolution]

I have not seen Botanigard but will most definitely want to try it - especially because it says its effective against spider mites, mealybugs, and whitefly. Which if true, would be a game changer! 

 

 

 

[sonoranfans]

yes these mostly prefer my plumeria and hibiscus to the palms.  They used to eat my achrontophoenix alexandre when they were small, now they are 25' and they dont get up there any more I suppose.  Waste of time trying to kill them with insecticide, didnt work.  They eat no matter what.  I killed as many as possible manually and its pretty easy to spot them on plumeria or hibiscus.  This year I only saw and killed two and have no visible damage.  They just remove leaf material and leave visible cuts in them that look like bite radii.  They are eating your queens because they like them better than the other choices.

[Dartolution]

@sonoranfans Interesting that you mention Plumeria and Hibiscus. There is a very large potted plumeria directly below the queen (untouched), and a potted Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, as well as a hibiscus moscheutos in the landscape. None of which have been touched. It would be my luck these things prefer palms over tropicals. 

Thats typically what I do from now until the end of fall - just sneak up on them, pick them off and feed them to whatever looks hungrier (carnivorous plants, worms etc...). haha 

 

[Joe NC]

These are the exact grasshoppers that routinely descend and shred my palms.  Trachy, Livistona, Mules have all been hit.

They have ate entire seedlings to the dirt in less than 24hrs.... I am not a fan.

They probably eat other things, but the palms are the only things I notice and get mad about.  Especially when they take out seedlings of things that are hard to come by. 

 

[sonoranfans]

3 hours ago, Dartolution said:

@sonoranfans Interesting that you mention Plumeria and Hibiscus. There is a very large potted plumeria directly below the queen (untouched), and a potted Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, as well as a hibiscus moscheutos in the landscape. None of which have been touched. It would be my luck these things prefer palms over tropicals. 

Thats typically what I do from now until the end of fall - just sneak up on them, pick them off and feed them to whatever looks hungrier (carnivorous plants, worms etc...). haha 

 

Since I have no queens I guess my grasshoppers have not visited such a great culinary eatery as your grasshoppers.  I shall tell them and send them bugs to you!

 

[Looking Glass]

Maybe you just needs more lizards.  I’ve got several on every plant, and herds of them all aren’t the house.  Every time I see them I say, “eat up little buddies, eat up”.  Still, little green beetles eat certain plants, and some sort of caterpillar has been chewing satakentia leaflets.  Big leaf rollers hit the bottles and spindles.  

[DoomsDave]

I catch them and feed them to the Heathen Monster crunch crunch crunch etc.

[Dartolution]

@sonoranfans Lets not be enemy's shall we? haha 

@Looking Glass Definitely not a lizard issue. I have at least 3 species in the backyard alone, and dozens of them including babies currently. Im not talking about 2 or 3 seen from time to time, I mean literally dozens. Anoles and Skinks mostly. Love my lizards. 

Also have 3 species of frog/toad back there. Leopards, Green tree frogs, and marine toads. one marine toad in particular stays on the back patio under the plants during the day, and gorges itself on moth's and other critters that are attracted to the lanterns I have back there. He is affectionately referred to as "Fred." 

The lizards seem preoccupied with flies mostly, and beetles. Plus, some of these grasshoppers are as big as, or bigger than the lizards. 

I don't think they originate in my backyard, I think they fly in looking for food once they get too large for the lizards to consume. 

 

@DoomsDave haha extra protein crunchy snacks huh? haha 

 

[D Palm]

I rarely see the grasshopper as mentioned in your photo, but I have a ton of lizards, frogs and toads around the yard.  It’s like a mini Jurassic park sometimes.  I haven’t noticed anything munching on my palms….knock on wood. 

[DoomsDave]

Lizards love to eat black widow spiders! So entertaining but not for the spiders…..

[palmsrgreat]

Bifen and carbaryl will solve this problem easily. I spray carbaryl in my pastures once in late spring to knock them out when young. This chemical works great for me and safe with cattle. Then I typically spray my yard and palms once a month in summer with bifen. Relatively cheap, very effective and safe. I will sometimes use the granular for spot treatments and on turf. They can destroy valuable seedlings very fast and really are a nuisance in tearing up fronds. 

[Merlyn]

I get the big lubbers here...large, aggressive, and slow.  Fortunately they don't fly, or at least not much.  They love Crinum and Canna lilies here, and don't seem to eat the palms at all.  They do like to hide in the fronds of Sylvesters and especially B. Alfredii.  So I check the palms every once in a while to find the adults, so I can knock them off and stomp on them.  I have occasionally seen medium sized flying grasshoppers here, but so far (knock on wood) only one or two a year.  I chased down and ran over one with my lawnmower on Sunday, so they are around here.