A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Plant pests and problems Bing Cherry tree under attack

I have a chery tree I planted about 3 years ago it just started producing fruit this year now I have a major infestion don't know what to do to stop and prevent future attacks. It is pretty bad, the ants I can get rid of but there is other bugs I don't know how to deal with I've included a pic for visual help.


http://cid-daefaa64b5b789b9.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Cherry%20tree/Cherry%20tree.jpg

I don't know anything about fruit trees, maybe an expert will jump in. BUT I'm pretty sure you have an aphid infestation. The small black specks are aphids, and the ants are "farming" them. (Aphids secrete a sugary substance that the ants like.) To help immediately, blast all the infested areas with water from the hose. That should remove a lot of them.

Then... I'd know what to say if this were a veggie. Maybe someone else will chime in soon.

Yes, that looks like aphids. The ant there is not one that would normally "milk" the aphids, meaning, use the honeydue the aphids produce, I'm thinking he was just a wanderer, but the other largish insect is a ladybug larva, the larva being a heavy feeder of aphids, so the cycle of life is working itself out, spraying now would upset the balance, give it a bit more time before you resort to chemical controls, but monitor the situation, and let us know how things are going....This situation definetely is very critical, is this happening on major portions of leaves?
Blasting the leaves with water won't necessarily harm the ladybugs, but it might basically eliminate the aphid problem, it's all about balance if you want to do things according to natural patterns. Some level of insect interaction is a positive, unless one species begins to dominate and, it could take some patience to see results.
You might want to blast the worst areas and leave areas with higher populations of ladybug larva undisturbed...sometimes these issues are a result of overuse of chemical fert's,but please respond with any additonal info you can...we will work through this, but hold off on drastic measures for now, okay?

I hope Rustyfan checks back in. I certainly learned something here, Dave. So that's a laybug larva, huh? Cool!

Well, to be absolutely certain, Id have to look again, but yeah, that's what it is.
Should rustyfan move on, which many people do, and not check back, at least you and others may profit from the few tidbits I have to offer. :wink:

http://www.google.com/search?source...US263US263&q=ladybug+larvae+pictures
Is that the insect we're looking at?
Hard to tell, but i'm thinkin' so.

Sure looks like it to me. Thanks!

ooooooh and I thought my cherry tree looked bad