Help with beetle larvaes inside Sabal Palmetto seeds?

[vlc]

I recently purchased some Sabal Palmetto seeds online, little did I know they would arrive completely infested with live beetles (at least 4 of them on top of 50 seeds). I am heartbroken and wondering if there is ANY way to salvage those seeds, or if it's game over?

I put all of the seeds in water, in hopes it will drown the larvae inside, but the more I read on google, the less hopeful I am.

Should I just discard all of the seeds and start over and order from someone more reputable? Or is there a way to tell which seed is viable and which is destroyed?

Thank you so much!!

[Silas_Sancona]

3 minutes ago, vlc said:

I recently purchased some Sabal Palmetto seeds online, little did I know they would arrive completely infested with live beetles (at least 4 of them on top of 50 seeds). I am heartbroken and  wondering if there is ANY way to salvage those seeds, or if it's game over?

I put all of the seeds in water, in hopes it will drown the larvae inside, but the more I read on google, the less hopeful I am.

Should I just discard all of the seeds and start over and order from someone more reputable? Or is there a way to tell which seed is viable and which is destroyed?

Thank you so much!!

..Is a type of Seed Weevil..  Grubs in the seeds? = they're done..  Toss em'.  Putting the seeds in water won't kill the grubs ..which likely have already eaten the Embryo of the seed itself.

Can collect / clean new seed and treat the cleaned seed with Home Defence ( spritz or two in the container seed will be stored in ..Let dry before putting the seed in it.. )

Will kill any adult beetles as they emerge from the effected seeds.. 

Do this w/ various native Legume - family seed that are Bean Weevil magnets here..  If i don't, i'll loose entire batches of seed collected / cleaned and stored for planting later..

Even when you think you've been very careful about not including infested seed, these things will appear in a container of " clean " seed ..as if by magic.. 

Spritz of Home Defence in the container you're holding seeds in kills any grubs as they hatch / adult Beetles as they emerge from effected seeds.  Will not adversely effect the seeds themselves.

...Unless you can see an entry / exit hole in the seed itself,  eggs/ 1st instar- aged grubs are tiny and very hard to detect..  Eggs are hard to remove from the individual seeds. 

Have come across the same thing w/ Sabal  seed i'd collected in that part of the country. in the past.

[vlc]

4 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

..Is a type of Seed Weevil..  Grubs in the seeds? = they're done..  Toss em'.  Putting the seeds in water won't kill the grubs ..which likely have already eaten the Embryo of the seed itself.

Can collect / clean new seed and treat the cleaned seed with Home Defence ( spritz or two in the container seed will be stored in ..Let dry before putting the seed in it.. )

Will kill any adult beetles as they emerge from the effected seeds.. 

Do this w/ various native Legume - family seed that are Bean Weevil magnets here..  If i don't, i'll loose entire batches of seed collected / cleaned and stored for planting later..

Even when you think you've been very careful about not including infested seed, these things will appear in a container of " clean " seed ..as if by magic.. 

Spritz of Home Defence in the container you're holding seeds in kills any grubs as they hatch / adult Beetles as they emerge from effected seeds.  Will not adversely effect the seeds themselves.

...Unless you can see an entry / exit hole in the seed itself,  eggs/ 1st instar- aged grubs are tiny and very hard to detect..  Eggs are hard to remove from the individual seeds. 

Have come across the same thing w/ Sabal  seed i'd collected in that part of the country. in the past.

I have read that these bugs take 25-35 days to emerge from the seed... I don't think I can keep the seeds soaked in anything for this long? I also only have the same batch of seeds that came with the live beetles... I don't have a palm tree and these seeds were ordered online from a seller with little to no knowledge.

[Silas_Sancona]

24 minutes ago, vlc said:

I have read that these bugs take 25-35 days to emerge from the seed... I don't think I can keep the seeds soaked in anything for this long? I also only have the same batch of seeds that came with the live beetles... I don't have a palm tree and these seeds were ordered online from a seller with little to no knowledge.

You don't soak the seeds...  You'd spray the container you might keep them in ( ...Until you're going to plant them ) ...That, or you can spray a couple pieces of paper towel and set them inside the container after they had dried, w/ the seeds.. Residual, insect killing effect of Home Defence lasts one year after it dries, if it stays dry.

Bummer you got a bunk batch but, it happens.. I'd reach out to folks here who can send you bug- free seed.. Considering how common S. palmetto is back there, should be plenty of folks near you who can.  Surprised if there aren't specimens you could collect seed off yourself near by..

 

[vlc]

9 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

You don't soak the seeds...  You'd spray the container you might keep them in ( ...Until you're going to plant them ) ...That, or you can spray a couple pieces of paper towel and set them inside the container after they had dried, w/ the seeds.. Residual, insect killing effect of Home Defence lasts one year after it dries, if it stays dry.

Bummer you got a bunk batch but, it happens.. I'd reach out to folks here who can send you bug- free seed.. Considering how common S. palmetto is back there, should be plenty of folks near you who can.  Surprised if there aren't specimens you could collect seed off yourself near by..

 

Thank you so much, that is a great idea, I will try that.

I have soaked the rest of the seeds in water, so now I have to figure out how to dry them out, and NOT have emerging grubs out of them in the process, before putting them in air-tight container with the Home Defence stuff. Any ideas?

[Chester B]

I always see weevils in Sabal seeds.  After harvest, freeze them for a couple of weeks, problem solved.

[Silas_Sancona]

5 hours ago, vlc said:

Thank you so much, that is a great idea, I will try that.

I have soaked the rest of the seeds in water, so now I have to figure out how to dry them out, and NOT have emerging grubs out of them in the process, before putting them in air-tight container with the Home Defence stuff. Any ideas?

W/ the seeds you soaked, place on a paper towel and let air dry..  Shouldn't take more than an hour or so to dry.

Aside from any seeds that floated when you soaked them, W/ out opening every seed, you won't know which ones might have developing grubs in them..  Is quite amazing ( to me at least ) how tiny the hole is the hatching grubs make. Next to impossible to see w/ out some sort of magnifying hand lens or microscope.  Anyway...

After that, place the " good " seeds   ( = Any that sank when you soaked 'em.. )  in a clear plastic " deli meat " ( ..What it often comes packaged in at the store )  - type of container  and check every day.   You can place a piece of paper towel treated w/ the home defence at the bottom of the container, and one on top of the seeds  ...that way any grubs that emerge from good looking seeds are killed the instant they crawl onto the paper towel, no matter where they emerge in the container.

Have noticed that in the house where the temp. is pretty consistent, seed weevil life cycle seems to move a little faster ..At least w/ our native Bean Weevils. Life cycle of those that use palmetto seeds as a host might be a bit different..

As Chester mentions, you can freeze the seed for a few days too,  though any seeds grubs were inside of before being frozen won't be salvageable.

Can deal w/ pretty much any bug   Seed weevils?  ...are a real pain in the  < ..insert your own descriptive word...  >  lol.

[vlc]

6 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

W/ the seeds you soaked, place on a paper towel and let air dry..  Shouldn't take more than an hour or so to dry.

Aside from any seeds that floated when you soaked them, W/ out opening every seed, you won't know which ones might have developing grubs in them..  Is quite amazing ( to me at least ) how tiny the hole is the hatching grubs make. Next to impossible to see w/ out some sort of magnifying hand lens or microscope.  Anyway...

After that, place the " good " seeds   ( = Any that sank when you soaked 'em.. )  in a clear plastic " deli meat " ( ..What it often comes packaged in at the store )  - type of container  and check every day.   You can place a piece of paper towel treated w/ the home defence at the bottom of the container, and one on top of the seeds  ...that way any grubs that emerge from good looking seeds are killed the instant they crawl onto the paper towel, no matter where they emerge in the container.

Have noticed that in the house where the temp. is pretty consistent, seed weevil life cycle seems to move a little faster ..At least w/ our native Bean Weevils. Life cycle of those that use palmetto seeds as a host might be a bit different..

As Chester mentions, you can freeze the seed for a few days too,  though any seeds grubs were inside of before being frozen won't be salvageable.

Can deal w/ pretty much any bug   Seed weevils?  ...are a real pain in the  < ..insert your own descriptive word...  >  lol.

Thank you, I took your advice and put a spritz of Home Defence in a small plastic bottle (made sure to cover all sides of the bottle), and let dry for 2 hours. Then, I carefully cleaned the remaining sunken seeds, dried them with paper towel, and put in that bottle. Whatever emerges out of those seeds will be hopefully dead instantly.