A New Pest for an Old Favorite
By Andrea Peck
Agapanthus, or African lily, is a mid-sized plant with small, tubular flowers that form a clustering habit. From far off it looks like one big spherical ball of flowers set on top of a smooth green leg of a stem. Most often they are blue, but can come in purple, white or pink. The leaves are rich and green and kind of floppy, just like a lily. The agapanthus is less girly and delicate and more what you might call, sturdy female. It would be surprising if you had never seen one because they are grown around malls and shopping centers—anywhere that you find hardpan and broken sprinklers. Easy to grow and resistant to pests and diseases, the agapanthus is probably the official flower of the mall landscaper. If you see them often enough you may grow weary of them despite the fact that they actually are very pretty plants.
But, all this may change for the lovely, though utilitarian, agapanthus. It appears it has developed a nemesis in the UK (It has not been sighted here in North America). The pest goes by the name of agapanthus gall midge. The name sounds somewhat innocuous but it can cause mayhem when the flower buds become disfigured and discolored before falling off, leaving only floppy leaves and a beefy stem.
Until 2014, the midge remained in a cloak of invisibility. Personally, I thought that trick was reserved for superheroes or their foes, but interestingly, new pests do surface from time to time. The creature is so new that it has not even been given a scientific name.
The damage is caused by the larvae, icky maggot lookalikes, of a small fly. The fly lays eggs on the flower buds of the agapanthus and when the eggs hatch the flower begins a slow descent into flower netherworlds. Because the pest is new to the scene, not much can be said as far as lifecycle or control. The larvae are about 3mm in length, a creamy white or orange, and can be found inside flower buds, sometimes in a milky liquid of their own making.