"Recently, many people have seen Tianniu in different places, and they will not become a disaster again, right?" On July 23, Mr. Sha, a citizen of Yinchuan, told this newspaper that he had found a Tianniu in Jinfeng District on July 13, and sent a WeChat circle of friends out of curiosity. In this regard, Wang Weidong, deputy director of the Ningxia Forest Disease and Pest Control and Quarantine Station, said that the public does not need to worry, after decades of comprehensive management, although Tianniu has not become extinct, it will not form a disaster.
Mr. Sha told reporters that on July 13, he caught a tianniu with a black background and white dots near the water climbing hall in Jinfeng District, because he felt that he had not seen this kind of tianniu for many years, so he casually took a video of the Tianniu and sent it to the WeChat circle of friends, and then many friends replied to him, some said that they saw one by the side of the Tanglai Canal a few days ago, some said that they had seen it on the road, some said that they had found it in the Liyuan community, and even some people said that they had seen it on the sand dunes at the head of the Sand Slope of Zhongwei, which made Mr. Sha worried. "Tianniu once plagued a large number of poplar trees in and around Yinchuan decades ago, and it is a guy who makes people smell discolored, and now that it has appeared again, will it bring any harm again?" Mr. Sha said worriedly.
Ms. Wang, a citizen who has the same concerns as Mr. Sha, also told reporters that her family lives in the Liyuan Community in Jinfeng District, and a few days ago the child went downstairs to buy vegetables and found a Tianniu, which was also a white dot on a black background, and at that time, out of curiosity, she took a photo, and thought it was an accidental phenomenon, after reading Mr. Sha's circle of friends commented, she was very worried. "When I was still in elementary school, tianniu damaged a lot of poplar trees, and in order to eliminate tianniu, even the summer vacation homework assigned by the school was to hand in 50 tianniu." Ms. Wang said.
So, is the concern of Mr. Sha and others justified? Wang Weidong said after looking at the photos of Tianniu taken by Mr. Sha and Ms. Wang that this kind of Tianniu is a bare-shouldered star Tianniu. "Ningxia's Tianniu is mainly the bare-shouldered star Tianniu and the yellow spot star Tianniu, in the 1970s and 1980s these two kinds of Tianniu began to appear, when Ningxia tree species were relatively single, only cooperative poplar, willow and other tree species, Tianniu once became a disaster, there were as many as hundreds of Tianniu on a tree. In the early nineties, in order to govern tianniu, a generation of forest nets was cut down. Wang Weidong said that at that time, he thought that after the tree was cut down, the Tianniu would become extinct, but what he did not expect was that the viability and fertility of the Tianniu were very strong, and they multiplied in the remaining roots of the tree, and they multiplied a generation every two years. Later, in order to prevent and control, many tree species such as national locust, locust, and Xinjiang poplar were introduced for afforestation. After entering 2000, in addition to the introduction of other tree species, for poplar trees and willow trees that already have tianniu, the trunk punch injection method, artificial capture method, bamboo stick method and other methods are also used to control it, but as a creature, it is impossible to completely extinct.
"Now there are insects that are not a disaster, the public do not have to worry, if you encounter the tianniu in the park and the community, you can carefully observe, there are no worm holes, fecal openings and woodpeckers pecking traces, its natural enemies are woodpeckers, woodpeckers almost eat eighty percent of the tianniu larvae." Wang Weidong reminded that if the public finds that the trunk of the tree is dead and hollowed out, it can be reported to the local garden department.
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The bare-shouldered celestial calf is black with luster, 20-35 mm long and 7-12 mm wide; the antennae are 11 segments, and the base is blue-black; each wing has about 20 white spots.
Hosts: plane, willow, poplar.
Hazard characteristics: larvae moth eat tree trunks, light damage reduces wood quality, serious can cause trees to dry up and wind break; adults bite leaves or small branches and xylem.
An important forest pest that causes significant wood loss each year. Trees can be killed gradually over a period of 3-5 years, some for a little longer. In China, about 40% of poplar trees are destroyed as a result. In one province in Ningxia, 50 million trees were cut down between 1991 and 1993 due to the tianniu insect infestation. Adults can be caught during the adult bloom period, and pesticide spraying and moth holes can also be used. Protecting and utilizing its natural enemies is an effective method of control. Woodpeckers are the main natural enemies of the celestial bull and should be actively protected and attracted. (New News Daily reporter Wang Ruoying)
Citizen Ms. Wang photographed the Tianniu. Courtesy of respondents