My cucumbers have several small, round bore holes and (more often than not) caterpillars inside said holes, eating away. Can anyone identify what these are (or, more to the point, who their parents are, so I know who to chase away from my cucumber plants)? And any advice on how to prevent them from laying their eggs on my cukes? (These pics were taken in my fridge drawer--they were drawn out by the cold, apparently, and climbed up the sides.) I am assuming (possibly incorrectly) that these are all the same species.
Thanks!
CLOSED: Caterpillars in my cucumbers
Probably larvae of a pyralid moth in the genus Diaphania (pickleworms and melonworms) - see http://www.forestryimages.org/images/768x512/1435108.jpg for an example. Then see http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/species.php?hodges=5204 and http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/species.php?hodges=5202 for images of the adult moths.
Thanks, Flap! Maybe I'll do what I did when the birds were picking my cherry tomatoes--put a cone of window screen around them. Seemed to work for the birds--maybe it'll keep the moths off the cukes as well.
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