Yucca and bugs?


redmech

redmech

Guide
Lifetime Supporter
Bushclass I
Joined
Feb 11, 2010
Messages
3,657
Likes
730
Location
Missouri
I harvested about 8 yucca stalks yesterday. They had blown over, and were dead. Today while smoothing them up with a knife and cutting the ends off (getting them ready to be used as hand spindles for friction fire), I found little short worms in the upper 1/4 to 1/5 section of the stalk. They are yellow in color, about the diameter of a pencil lead, about 3/16 inch long. I guess they might be termites.

Here is the question, the bugs are in the very upper of this stalk, where I am finding them, there are no holes externally like I would expect to see. There are no holes or way they could have got up there from the center of the stalk from the bottom. How did they get in there? Have they been in there since summer, and the stalk grew back shut of where the bugs originally got in? I've found some yucca a couple months back that were completely rotten from bugs. These stalks are in really great shape, and the bugs are not in the lower portions. Any bug experts?? I looked at the little branches that come off and hold the seed/flower heads, and did not see any tunneling there either.

Might be a dumb question, but I'm trying to figure it out?
 
Not sure what thay are , but thay will muff up some friction fires!!

I had some yucca cut and dryed for mounths and those little buggers were still jucy after all that time.
 
Probably Yucca moth larvae. They have a parasitic relationship.
 
I've heard about putting bee hives in the deep freeze to kill em. I wonder if I put these stalks in for 2 or 3 months if it would kill them. I'm planning to bring these in April to give out and let people use them to practice and learn the handrill.
 
I would think a freezer would cause the stalks to draw moisture. Also, mother nature probably has anticipated a freeze period and it may not harm the insects at all. But I have no experience with Yucca, so I might be all wet in this thinking.
 
GreyOne said:
Probably Yucca moth larvae. They have a parasitic relationship.
Click to expand...

Sounds like they've been in the deep freeze all winter, if you just harvested them. They probably are larvae, and are waiting for warm weather to change into moths and fly away. Maybe if you put them in the oven and bake them to death, that will be the end of them and you can use your yuccas after all.

I'll bet if you look really close along the stalks you can find some very small holes where their mommies stuck eggs into the plants when they were soft and green.
 
once was using a yucca as a walking stick and swore i heard and felt a buzzing from it... cracked it open over a rock and a bunch of wasps flew out! swear im not making it up!! there were visible holes in that one though.
 
gila_dog said:
Sounds like they've been in the deep freeze all winter, if you just harvested them. They probably are larvae, and are waiting for warm weather to change into moths and fly away. Maybe if you put them in the oven and bake them to death, that will be the end of them and you can use your yuccas after all.

I'll bet if you look really close along the stalks you can find some very small holes where their mommies stuck eggs into the plants when they were soft and green.
Click to expand...

Well I finished roughly getting them cleaned up. Something tells me they are larvae. When I cut into them they squirm and push yellow crud out. Currently I have all the stalks bundled and wired together, in the oven at 200 degrees. Had to leave the door open cause the length. Figured a good 30 minutes at that temp hopefully will kill em dead. I think they were most likely put in there, and they holes healed over when the plant was alive. We have had a very mild winter where I'm at. There are kinda tunnels where they have been moving around eathing the pith I guess.
 
GreyOne said:
Probably Yucca moth larvae. They have a parasitic relationship.
Click to expand...

GreyOne may have hit the nail on the head (although the term is actually "mutualistic relationship")

Here's a good link to more information:http://www.desertusa.com/animals/yucca-moth.html

The interesting fact about the Yucca Moth is that because they depend on the yucca to survive, and the yucca depends on the moths to pollinate its seeds, there really isn't much written about how to get rid of the moths.

But redmech may also be correct about the 'bugs' being termites. Especially if the stalks were from dead yucca; termites tend to find the inside of dead yucca very easy to access and digest. It would stand to reason that baking the stalks would do the trick in killing them. Freezing would be difficult, not only because of the stalk length, but also because yucca grow as far north as northern Alberta and are able to withstand severe temperature drops, therefore any creature within is more than likely able to withstand the same extremes.
 
Last edited:
I made a discovery after baking my yucca, for 215 degrees, for 45 minutes, then turn them so the other end gets baked as well. After the baking process, where I had smoothed away the old flower/seed pod stems, a couple in each stalk had holes where the bug got in. Before baking there were no visible holes. After baking the holes opened up. Looks like that is where they had gotten in from, through the flower/seed pod stems.

Another note, when the wife asks you why you have "sticks" in the oven, don't tell her you are trying to kill bugs, just tell her you are drying the stalks out. I had to remind her that I own half that oven also.
 
I have never beat the Bugs to a Yucca Or a Sotol stem, some have less than others but I have never found any with no borings...The spacing of the holes is enough get usable sections. From what I have found the stems become the home of several crawleys from green stem to long dead and rotting.The holes actually have aided a few times in the establishing a notch for handrills/bowdrills using stone tools, so not always a bad thing.

Take care
M/BK
 
riverjoe said:
I've got a bunch of wormfree horesweed you're welcome to .
Click to expand...

I appreciate the offer, I've got plenty of yucca for myself. This batch I'm gonna bring to the Hardwoodsman Meet for people to play with or have. This stuff will be very serviceable. I haven't played with horse weed yet. It's on the list of things to try.

Thanks Ross,
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top