Why are white butterflies on raspberries dangerous, all methods of fighting insects and caterpillars

Every few years, there is an invasion of white butterflies on raspberries. Are these pollinating insects dangerous? It is necessary to fight the butterfly, and urgently, until it leaves a clutch of eggs on the leaves.

Is the cabbage butterfly a pest or not?

Inexperienced gardeners often wonder how many white butterflies appear on raspberries. Are they pollinators, or are they dangerous pests that can destroy a large percentage of the crop? A simple-looking butterfly really contributes to pollination of raspberry bushes, but at the same time the insect lays larvae. The main danger lies in them.

On the back of the leaf, females lay orange eggs. From them larvae hatch, which actively devour leaf tissue, buds and flowers. If you start the process, then the caterpillars will pierce all the green mass. Because of this, the raspberry bush weakens, it no longer has enough strength to grow full-fledged berries.

The raspberry pests that gnaw through the leaves to the state of "skeleton" are the caterpillars of the hawthorn butterfly. They are very common in gardens and wildlife, and are confused with another pest - cabbage. These two insects have differences:

1. Hawthorn - a butterfly with white wings covered with thin black stripes, while cabbage has black spots and corners on the wings.
2. Larvae also differ - in the hawthorn, the caterpillar has a noticeable pubescence.
3. And further: The favorite food of cabbage in the garden is the Cruciferous family (cabbage, radish, etc.), and the hawthorn eats fruit trees and shrubs (mountain ash, hawthorn, pear, etc.).

When to wait for the appearance of the hawthorn?

This butterfly emerges from the pupa in May-June (the warmer the climate, the earlier). For natural reasons, the number of these insects increases approximately every 4-6 years. If a wet summer is predicted, then it is worth carrying out preventive procedures in the garden in early spring.

Folk remedies

You need to start fighting with butterflies, without waiting for them to lay many eggs. Caterpillars are very voracious. The first thing to do if a raspberry tree is filled with white wings is to try to collect them by hand. Mechanical pest control takes a long time, but it is free and safe for both the plant and the gardener.

Tips for speeding up manual assembly of hawthorn butterflies and caterpillars:

1. Hawthorn is a diurnal butterfly that spends the night on bushes. Collect it either late in the evening or early in the morning: insect activity decreases during these hours.
2. In order not to rip off the caterpillars one by one, lay a plastic wrap under the bushes and shake the stems.
3. Turn on the vacuum cleaner by removing the attachment and pull the insects in.
4. Do not forget to examine the foliage after harvesting and destroy those parts where the cocoons are located. This will save next year's harvest. Also collect fallen leaves from the ground and burn it.

Important
Treatment of bushes with folk remedies is carried out at any time, including during flowering and fruiting. The use of chemicals is possible only before the buds appear, a maximum of 3 weeks before the berries ripen, otherwise the harvest will suffer.

A tart garlic infusion will help get rid of butterflies:

1. Chop the garlic arrows finely.
2. Fill them with water.
3. Leave the mixture on for a few days.
4. Add some soap shavings, mix everything and immediately spray the bushes with a spray bottle.

Advice
Don't ignore the weeds in the raspberry bush - butterflies feed on their nectar.

Use the pungent citrus scent to fight hawthorn:

1. Collect the peels of lemons, oranges and other citrus fruits, pour boiling water over.
2. After 2-3 days the infusion is ready - sprinkle it with raspberries.

A good technique is to treat the raspberry with an infusion of wormwood, which will scare away the pest with a bitter smell:

1. Pour 500 g of stems and leaves of wormwood with 10 liters of water. Let it brew.
2. After a day, strain and bring the infusion to a boil.
3. Boil for 30 minutes, cool, dilute with water in equal proportions. Done, you can spray the bushes.

In the same way, chopped burdock leaves are steamed. Treatments are carried out daily until insects disappear completely. The stronger the infusions, the stronger their effect.

Gardeners note that the smell of valerian is unpleasant to white butterflies:

1. Dilute a pharmacy bottle in a liter can of water.
2. Shake and pour the mixture into a spray bottle. Treat the bushes right away.

How to spray raspberry bushes if folk remedies do not help:

1. Fitoverm, Aktofir and other bioactive preparations are safer than insecticides, they act mildly and do not harm flowering.
2. "Aktara", "Iskra" and other insecticides are used strictly according to the instructions and at a certain time.
3. The fumigator is effective if raspberries are grown in a greenhouse.

Advice
The hawthorn lays eggs not only on raspberry leaves, it also affects apple, pear, cherry and other fruit and berry trees. Treat similar plantings if white butterflies have been seen on raspberries.

Natural enemies

Tits, bullfinches and other birds that need food in winter will help the gardener get rid of potential pests in the spring. Build birdhouses, organize a nursery for useful birds. The garden will be filled with birdsong and will be rid of pests.

The enemy of the hawthorn is the rider beetle. Plant dill, calendula, marigolds, carrots near raspberries. These plants will attract the beetle.

There is one trick that works successfully in many gardens: place poles with white foam or cardboard strung on them all over the raspberry tree. Butterflies mistake these designs for competitors and leave the "occupied" territory.

Hawthorn starts in high humidity. Thin and shape raspberry bushes, do not overuse watering. Loosen the surface layer of the soil more often, being careful not to touch the root system of the bushes. Remove all weeds, plant nearby wormwood, eggplants, tomatoes - the smell of the tops of these plants is unpleasant for the hawthorn.

Conclusion: comprehensive preventive and therapeutic measures are needed to rid the raspberry tree of butterflies and their dangerous larvae in the first year of the invasion.