Bay Tree -Insect friendly?

[nightshade]

I have a Bay tree it was around fifteen feet tall
and stole the light last thing on an evening
I decided to cut it down but relented and settled
for a trim
It is nearly back to its full glory but I have never
seen a bird or bug in it or on it, and there are other
trees I would rather have (oh there are scale insect on the trunk)
The leaves are culinary,but is this its only claim,shall I replace it?

[smartie]

I've a small bush I keep for culinary purposes, and like you I've never seen any insect on it other than a few scale insects. Since the leaves can be used as an insect repellant, this is perhaps not surprising

I don't think it gets many wildlife merit points.

[Kayleigh]

That's rubbish about a bay being an insect repellent. I have two 12 ft Bays one male one female. We get black berries on the female that the blackbirds and Thrushes love, they jump up to get one. The sparrows and Blue tits eat insects and caterpillars off the leaves and the wasps also hunt insects, oh and the bees go on them when they are in flower.
I love my Bays I wouldn't be without them.
Nightshade maybe you need to find out if you have a male of female and get another one to pollinate it.

[aeshna5]

I used to have responsibility for a large Bay + though I'd seen birds in it , I would say it's not particularly good for wildlife- certainly few insects seem to feed on the foliage, most of the leaves are totally intact- certainly not heaving with caterpillars.

Obviously if there are berries, birds will feed on them, but if attracting wildlife is the priority I'd give it the chop + replace with something more wildlife-friendly!

[honeybee]

Have a small one in a pot giving the bird table shelter, don't see much sign of life on it except the birds perch in it.

[Tursiops2]

We had a Bay tree by the back door when I was a kid, about the same size as nightshade's. Blackbirds nested in it every year, and it played host to a large population of spiders.
T2

[smartie]

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

That's rubbish about a bay being an insect repellent.

Errrr - no it isn't. There is lots of evidence of bay leaves being used for this purpose in many parts of the world. Just Google on "lauris nobilis insect repellant" to see some of the research papers

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by smartie

Errrr - no it isn't. There is lots of evidence of bay leaves being used for this purpose in many parts of the world. Just Google on "lauris nobilis insect repellant" to see some of the research papers

Well something is taking big chunks out of my leaves. There are caterpillar/bug things that curl up the leaves... They must have taken a liking to the taste.

[wyevilla]

It is of course a non-native (I think it originates from the mediterranean) so it is bound to be only of marginal interest to our native fauna. However, with climate change, this could of course alter...

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by wyevilla

It is of course a non-native (I think it originates from the mediterranean) so it is bound to be only of marginal interest to our native fauna. However, with climate change, this could of course alter...

Most of the herbs are non native but lots of insects like them. You may be right about the climate change I know we get ladybirds on the bay I think they overwinter on it. They certainly eat the aphids that are on them.
Don't forget mine are fertile as there is a male and female this must make a difference to the insects. They also grow like weeds we have to go around pulling them up where we don't want them to grow. Friends and family are happy though.

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

Most of the herbs are non native but lots of insects like them. You may be right about the climate change I know we get ladybirds on the bay I think they overwinter on it. They certainly eat the aphids that are on them.
Don't forget mine are fertile as there is a male and female this must make a difference to the insects. They also grow like weeds we have to go around pulling them up where we don't want them to grow. Friends and family are happy though.

Yes, you always seem to get plenty of ladybirds and spiders in them especially over winter. Partly, I think, because they are evergreen and give good overwinter shelter?

They are also eaten by some moths - never found out which!

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by Paul mabbott

Yes, you always seem to get plenty of ladybirds and spiders in them especially over winter. Partly, I think, because they are evergreen and give good overwinter shelter?

They are also eaten by some moths - never found out which!

Probably the moth that curls the leaves and eats them on mine. It also turns the leaf black and shrivelled up. I know this moth is a pest in the garden but its food for other creatures and birds.

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

Probably the moth that curls the leaves and eats them on mine. It also turns the leaf black and shrivelled up. I know this moth is a pest in the garden but its food for other creatures and birds.

The one I get seems to scrape off patches of the underside of the leaf. Looks a bit like a leaf-mine from above but I think bay doesn't have any miners in this country.

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by Paul mabbott

The one I get seems to scrape off patches of the underside of the leaf. Looks a bit like a leaf-mine from above but I think bay doesn't have any miners in this country.

It could be a leaf beetle, they attack May to the end of summer, Skeletonizing the leaf rather than eating holes in it. There is a leaf miner that attacks Holly,Privet,Honeysuckle,Azalea,Lilac and Birch.

I think I have Tortrix moth on mine. These are the only things that come close in my gardening books.

[Paul mabbott]

QED
The original question, I think, has been answered - lots of animals find them useful!
With regard to insect-repellent qualities: most plants have some repellent qualities but there are always some insects that manage to live with this. We shouldn't really be talking about general insect repellents but which particular insects are repelled by particular plants species/genera/families ...

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

It could be a leaf beetle, they attack May to the end of summer, Skeletonizing the leaf rather than eating holes in it. There is a leaf miner that attacks Holly,Privet,Honeysuckle,Azalea,Lilac and Birch.

I think I have Tortrix moth on mine. These are the only things that come close in my gardening books.

[Lords and Ladies]

As a kid I used to go insect collecting with my father. He would have a number of glass tubes, at the bottom of the tubes were what he always decribed as 'laurel leaves', crushed up and held down with cotton wool. Any insect in the tube would die within seconds if the leaves were fresh.

I suppose they could have been leaves of something else, but thinking back at the shape of them, I suspect they might have been bay leaves. Not tested this theory out though

I imagine this may have been a fairly common practice for collecting insect specimens some years ago.

[nightshade]

I think they give off Cyanide gas. My friends and used the same method

[nightshade]

I have decided to replace it with a bird cherry or similar insect friendly tree
in a bid to bring in more Bats
A neighbour has had a huge Willow cut down(last year)and now another 30
-footer has been felled some sort of replacement is called for

[aeshna5]

Originally Posted by Lords and Ladies

As a kid I used to go insect collecting with my father. He would have a number of glass tubes, at the bottom of the tubes were what he always decribed as 'laurel leaves', crushed up and held down with cotton wool. Any insect in the tube would die within seconds if the leaves were fresh.

I suppose they could have been leaves of something else, but thinking back at the shape of them, I suspect they might have been bay leaves. Not tested this theory out though

I imagine this may have been a fairly common practice for collecting insect specimens some years ago.

Your father was right! Laurel, Prunus laurocerasus, leaves were regularly used as a killing medium by entomologists as they contain prussic acid, which is I believe a cyanide based chemical. Interestingly, Burnet Moths are immune to this!

[Lords and Ladies]

Originally Posted by aeshna5

Your father was right! Laurel, Prunus laurocerasus, leaves were regularly used as a killing medium by entomologists as they contain prussic acid, which is I believe a cyanide based chemical. Interestingly, Burnet Moths are immune to this!

So it was another laurel then Thanks aeshna, I'd wondered about this for a while. I guess using bay leaves would just marinate them for a bit .

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by aeshna5

Your father was right! Laurel, Prunus laurocerasus, leaves were regularly used as a killing medium by entomologists as they contain prussic acid, which is I believe a cyanide based chemical. Interestingly, Burnet Moths are immune to this!

That's cherry laurel - not a shrub to be recommended. Cyanide apart, it grows very extensively and doesn't host any animals although blackbirds will eat the berries.

[Nettle Runner]

Thanks Kayleigh for the interesting description of your own Bay trees.
You have inspired me to go out and get a male and female tree for my own garden. On ringing round a few nurseries in my area, none of them realised that the Bay is a dioecious plant. They could not tell me if their stock was male or female. However, I found one nursery with plants that are with flowers at the moment, and they also have some without (presumably they are female and male).
I shall pay them a visit this weekend.
Les

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by Nettle Runner

Thanks Kayleigh for the interesting description of your own Bay trees.
You have inspired me to go out and get a male and female tree for my own garden. On ringing round a few nurseries in my area, none of them realised that the Bay is a dioecious plant. They could not tell me if their stock was male or female. However, I found one nursery with plants that are with flowers at the moment, and they also have some without (presumably they are female and male).
I shall pay them a visit this weekend.
Les

Don't be hasty, Both my bays are coming into flower at the moment and they both look exactly the same. Later on the female will produce green berries that turn black in late summer.

We had a female sparrowhawk fly out of the Bay today looking for the sparrows that live in there.

[elleme]

I have a bay tree which has never flowered yet - I'm sure it's Laurus nobilis as its leaves smell like bay leaf and it's definitely not a cherry laurel. It's about 6ft tall and was only planted out in the bottom of the garden last year - prior to that it was kept in a large container. Can I expect it to flower soon, now that it's in the ground?

[aeshna5]

Originally Posted by elleme

I have a bay tree which has never flowered yet - I'm sure it's Laurus nobilis as its leaves smell like bay leaf and it's definitely not a cherry laurel. It's about 6ft tall and was only planted out in the bottom of the garden last year - prior to that it was kept in a large container. Can I expect it to flower soon, now that it's in the ground?

I'm surprised there haven't been any flowers yet. They are not the most conspicuous of flowers, so do you think it's possible you may have overlooked them?