Bright yellow bug (caterpillar?) with black hairs all over

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greenstacie Silver Spring, MD Jul 30, 2008

I'll post a picture tomorrow, if I can catch them in the act tomorrow morning. I picked about 8 of these little guys (1/4 of an inch long) off of my cucumber leaves. They were eating in a very neat pattern. They are quite bright and almost cartoon-like in appearance, with black hairs sticking out all over. I thought they were spikes, but when I touched them, they weren't sharp.

Any ideas about what they could be? I promise to post pictures when I see them next!

And, if you know what they are, do you know any organic ways of "dealing" with them?

Thanks!

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feldon30 Houston, TX(Zone 9a) Jul 30, 2008

Most, if not all, caterpillars can be dissuaded from eating your vegetable leaves and fruit with a completely organic product called bacillus thuringiensis, marketed as BT Worm Killer or Dipel Dust. I prefer the liquid concentrate and to mix up a small batch and spray all my plants about once per week. It is a bacteria which causes the caterpillars to stop eating after a few bites.

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greenstacie Silver Spring, MD Jul 31, 2008

Here is one of the little guys, hard at work. I picked up some Dipel dust and applied it this morning - thanks for the tip!

Thumbnail by greenstacie
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lavender4ever (Louise) Palm Bay, FL(Zone 9b) Jul 31, 2008

hmm not really sure but it looks like the larvae of some variety of tortoise beetle.

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june_nmexico Albuquerque, NM(Zone 7a) Jul 31, 2008

Feldon - How close to harvest is it safe to use
BT Worm Killer or Dipel Dust? Does it work
on tomato cutworms too?

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greenstacie Silver Spring, MD Jul 31, 2008

I posted on the bug ID forum, and double-checked the name suggested there with some other websites, and it's the larvae of a squash beetle. It doesn't look much like it now, but it will turn into something that looks like a ladybug.

The Dipel dust that I picked up (Safer Brand Caterpillar Killer for Trees, Shrubs, and Vegetables) says that it's safe up to the day of harvest.

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feldon30 Houston, TX(Zone 9a) Jul 31, 2008

http://www.greenlightco.com/products/_LiquidInsecticides.htm

BT Worm Killer can be applied up to the day of harvest.

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june_nmexico Albuquerque, NM(Zone 7a) Jul 31, 2008

Thanks, Feldon.

June

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lavender4ever (Louise) Palm Bay, FL(Zone 9b) Jul 31, 2008

I am glad you found out what it is. I knew it had to be a beetle! I looked it up after you posted and found a pic almost exactly like yours. http://www.whatsthatbug.com/beetles4.html

June that application is for caterpillars only and will not affect other insects such as beetle larvae.

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