On Mon, 07 Apr 2003, Cass wrote:
In article , Mike
wrote:

On Mon, 07 Apr 2003, Cass wrote:
The stem sawfly damage looks a little different on Baldo's site:

http://members.tripod.com/buggyrose/...ephid-dam2.jpg

That's it! The stem sawfly damage looks just like the marks on my roses,
except mine are in a circle around the stem, as opposed to the spiral you
show in that pic. The mark is unmistakable, though. That is definitely the
guilty party.

Rats!

I'll ask you, too - is there something I can do to get rid of these guys
that won't hurt the fauna I'm fond of?

I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that you're not going
to hurt the fauna you're fond of. That's because of the bad news:
there's no IPM for stem sawflies, i.e. no way to treat stem sawflies
other than pruning, *unless* you're comfortable using a systemic
insecticide. There are reasons not to do that, mostly having to do with
spider mites. Rose stem sawflies get some buds every year, but not many
of them. Spider mites are considered the much greater risk to roses,
and the use of systemic insecticides is thought to suppress spider mite
predators. I'm guessing that's because most systemic insecticides have
both systemic and contact action, but I don't know for sure as I never
use them.

Do a search: IPM stem sawfly

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distrib...ponents/6953_0
0.html

http://www.sactorose.org/ipm/84roseipm.htm

Apparently a systemic insecticide will work:

http://cecalaveras.ucdavis.edu/rose.htm

http://www.rosecare.com/pests.html

I think the rose stem sawflies won't continue laying eggs for long. Do
a little study and see if you can live with it; otherwise, it's
chemwick for you.

Weeeell, that is good news/bad news. I'll do a little research and see if
they have natural enemies or if you can see the eggs and pick them off,
etc. I wonder why I've never seen the damage before? Maybe they get so few
buds I just never noticed. Hopefully. g It sounds like using an
isecticide is a cure worse than the disease, though.

Interesting - I have Botanica's Roses, Ortho's All About Roses, Field
Roebuck's Foolproof Guide To Growing Roses and Roses For Dummies - and none
of them mention the rose stem sawfly. The closest reference is in Botanica
to "leaf rolling sawfly." Definitely not the same pest. I wonder why none
of these books mention this pest? That seems odd.

Last Christmas everyone decided rose books were the perfect gift. They
weren't wrong, either.

Mike
z8TX