Coming soon…
The story of neorthochaeta dissimilis,
or “One yucky white larva nearly ruined my iris patch!”
Well, I just may be the world’s leading expert on neorthochaeta dissimilis. I’m not sure what makes an expert, but I think I know more about this ucky, yucky little maggot than anybody else. anybody that I could find, anyway. Granted, my entomology lab wasn’t as fancy as iris breeder Andrew Wheeler’s lab at Harvard, and I didn’t have the newest temperature and climate-controlled insect nurseries and big microscopes like entomologist Richard Hoebeke at Cornell University (both of whom you will hear more about), but I managed just fine. Assorted glass jars with masking tape labels lined up on my kitchen counter; tiny paper envelopes in the freezer compartment next to the coffee beans; insect collection bottle with the red screw top that clips to my belt, used since childhood; on hands and knees in the garden dirt with a magnifying glass… this was my bug lab. And this is where I learned all I ever wanted to know about the Iris Bud Fly.
carie's garden 
We are curious what you have found out. We are writing an article for our local iris publication on the iris bud fly. We have been fighting for many years and have learned a few things too. Like the adult flies are sluggish in the morning before the sun hits them and are easy to kill by pinching them between your thumb and forefinger. The adults also start to appear in the garden a couple of weeks before siberian irises bloom. If you would like a copy of my article, send me an e-mail address and I will send it.
Marty, I’d be delighted to have a copy of your article! And your comment may just inspire me to finally get this post finished 🙂 Over the years, I’ve been able to identify the adults, track the larval and pupae stages, but have yet to hatch an egg or have a pupae emerge into an adult. I manage my gardens by hand-picking, just as you have found, early morning is best.
You can email me personally at
Thanks!
Carie
oops, Marty, it didn’t take my email address. I’ll try again: carie.vds@gmail