A Rhododendron Pest
By R. M. Overstreet, M.D., Eugene, Oregon
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Fig. 7. Bright green unidentified worm on
the stem of a rhododendron bud. Overstreet photo |
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Fig. 8. A rhododendron flower bud showing
the effects of an attach by the above mentioned insect. |
The two photographs (Fig. 7 and Fig. 8) illustrate a rhododendron pest which I do not find recorded in the literature about rhododendrons. When R. amagianum was about ready to bloom this year several of the buds had obviously been excavated. Dissection of one yielded a lovely green worm of which a photo is enclosed. The same pest or at least a related insect seems to be at work on the following in my own garden: R. 'Carmen', R. 'Elizabeth', and two varieties of R. forrestii . I have not seen the adult moth and was unable to keep this creature alive until it pupated; consequently I can make no identification. Perhaps some member has some information of the same.