The Codling Moth is the apple orchard's number one enemy. The proverbial worm in the apple is due to this destructive orchard pest. The orchardist traditionally has to spray the orchard at least 8 times a year to keep the worms out of the apple for the consumer. The spraying can be organic or conventional, but the results are the same, as they kill all insects, both the beneficial and harmful ones. Not to mention, they are hard on the orchardist's health as well. There is an alternative to spraying. The picture you see shows 8,000 Trichogramma wasps eggs. I just hung 120,000 wasps eggs in my orchard. In a few days these eggs will hatch. The wasps will then start to hunt for Codling Moth eggs. Once the eggs are found, the wasp will lay their own eggs inside the moth's eggs. The wasps' eggs will devour the moths' eggs as nourisment. The wasp larva will then hatch from the moth's egg to go on to mate with the opposite sex wasp. The cycle continues. All I need to do is hang the egg strips and allow the orchard to have flowering plants by not mowing it down constantly. This way, the wasps have a nectar source. You can either fight nature and do yourself and the ecosystem harm, or you can work with it. Truly, everything is connected.
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