Tag: insect
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Question of the Week – Armyworm Egg Mass
This week, the question was: What is this on this tomato leaf? This is an armyworm egg mass, possibly from the beet armyworm (Spodoptera exigua). The beet armyworm is a pest of vegetables across the Southern US. In warm weather, these eggs will hatch in only 2-3 days. Young caterpillars are slow to disperse and…
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Question of the Week – Corn Earworm
This week, the question was: What caterpillar is this that was found boring into a tomato? This is a corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea). This common caterpillar pest is known by other names, including tomato fruitworm, cotton bollworm, and soybean podworm. Corn earworms are considered to be one of the most economically important insect pests in…
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Question of the Week – Squash Beetles
This week, the question was: What is this critter that was found on the underside of a cucumber leaf? This spiky looking thing is a squash beetle larva. This is one of two species in the lady beetle family that feed on vegetable crops. The other is the Mexican bean beetle. Squash beetle adults look…
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Question of the Week – Pickleworm
This week, the question was: What caused the hole in the side of this cucumber? (Nothing is wrong with the color. This cultivar is called Silver Slicer.) This week’s question is a review from a post Tom Bilbo wrote recently about pickleworms. Pickleworms feed on the blooms and tunnel into the developing fruit of cucurbit…
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Question of the Week – Barklice
This week, the question was: What are all these critters crawling on the bark of this crepe myrtle tree? These are barklice, AKA barkflies or booklice. This species is probably Cerastipsocus venosus. Barklice are sometimes called “tree cattle,” due to their behavior of moving around in a group like a herd of animals (try moving…
The South Carolina Grower 