ID for bugs on hollyhock seeds?

This message was edited May 30, 2010 8:01 PM

Its a type of weevil. I read somewhere that 1 in 10 animals are weevils so could be any kind but they can be specific to certain plants so you may find it called something like hollyhock weevil. They lay something like 1/2 a million eggs in a year. Can be a sod to get rid of especially if you are chemical free.
I'm not sure what chems are available in america to kill them off.

Mike

I seen these on my dh hh's too, errrr I hate bugs lol

Hmmm... When I was harvesting hollyhock seeds this year, I noticed tiny holes in some of the seed "pods" and was hoping that didn't mean critters would hatch out of them in midwinter. The seeds inside seem intact.... I'm hoping there won't be any surprises for anyone with whom I share these seeds, though!

I traded for a lot of hollyhocks this year and I'm sure i have weevils....can I freeze hollyhock seed and will that kill the weevil? FOR SURE? LOL

Suzy

This message was edited May 30, 2010 8:01 PM

I stuck a packet in the frezzer and they all drop down dead. I only left them there over night.

Try it.

Nothing to loose

Mike

Guess I'd better find them all and get them in the freezer -- I'm having T-giving and Christmas here and my seeds are sort of close to the kictchen. My sister, nieces and daughters would have a cow if one of those sort of joined the festivities! LOL! Come to think of it, Mr.Clean wouldn't be too happy either!

Thanks,
Suzy

Apparently these weevils have a thing for Hollyhocks: http://bugguide.net/node/view/16071

woofie, maybe you could put your picture in Bug Files

oop, I see now you already did

This message was edited Nov 8, 2006 3:06 PM

Hmmm.... on that link it says "The real damage they do is to drill into the hollyhock seedpods and destroy the seeds." A good percentage of my harvested hollyhock seeds have those little holes in them, but I really can't see going through and sorting them all out by hand. I just harvested them to share, anyway, so I'll think of them as seeds to include for SASBE or trade bonuses and make sure to put a generous number in each packet to make up for the weevil-damaged ones.

Or should I just toss them all out, on the premise that I don't want to send anybody surprise houseguests?

http://www.wuvie.net/hockdiseases.htm

http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/seedsave/2003082458024007.html

Wow, I sure found a lot more info about these guys by searching for Hollyhock weevils, instead of A. longirostrum
These sites talk about seeds specifically, and the first one is a DG'er! Nice surprise...you could d-mail and ask

Thanks for that link to wuvie's site! She doesn't mention weevils hatching out of stored seeds, so I think I'm safe... I'll just include a generous amount of seeds to make up for any weevil-damaged ones.

:-)

This message was edited May 30, 2010 8:02 PM

It seemed to me that once the seeds were ready to harvest, the damage had been done. I figure if I don't see a hole on the outer edge of the seed, then it should be OK.

The weevils bore into the seed while there on the plant. They often do it to lay an egg inside.

This means you need to use pesticides will the plant is growing. Hollyhocks need constant fungicide and pesticide treatments to keep them clear of pests.

Mike, by the time the seed has matured and turned brown for harvesting, is the egg still unhatched inside??

This message was edited May 30, 2010 8:03 PM

Hmmm. My seeds have been sitting out in a dish for a month now, so do you think it is "safe" to bag them? These are just some extra seeds I picked in case anyone wanted them... but I don't want to send anybody unwelcome surprises.. that would be a yucky thing to find in your seedbox, even if the little buggers were sealed into the plastic seed baggie so they couldn't escape.

The little blighters stay in the seed for a long time sometimes.
I think they wait untill they think its spring or something so if the temperature doesn't hit the right sequence they stay dormant till it does.

Honestly guys try a plastic baggie and shove them in the freezer over night. All your problems solved. (only works with hollyhock and other hardy seeds)

Mike

My seeds did spend a couple of nights in the freezer, but if the weevil eggs overwinter and hatch out in the spring, I wasn't sure freezing would be sufficient. Oh well, I've worried enough over this handful of seeds! I'll just make sure they're an "extra" if I include them in a swap or something, in case they don't do well.

Good point. I just know i did it and nothing hatched and the bugs that where alive weren't in the morning!