| Best Apples
A lot is going on
As I mentioned before, spring is a busy orchard time. A lot is going on. Everyone probably thinks bees usually fly around pollinating flowers in orchards, but there is more to life besides bees.
There are beneficial insects, but there are also pests. The allies of fruit growers are the bees I have already mentioned, ladybugs, Cucumeris mites, etc. The worst enemies include aphids, spider mites, leafhoppers, and an insect with a familiar name – the apple fruit fly. In Latin, the name sounds even prettier – Cydia Pomonella. Aphids and spider mites damage the tree leaves, while fruit flies and fruit bugs are insects that feed, as the name suggests, on fruit.
Fortunately, we are getting smarter with time because nowadays we know that most of the pests can be dealt with in natural ways, e.g. by inviting these pests’ natural enemies into the orchards or simply by taking care not to drive them out.
