Squash Vine Borer Look-a-like

13 years ago

I saw a bug identical to a squash vine borer, but it was black with an orange stripe across it's back, mostly black, is that a squash vine borer? I didn't get a picture and the ones on the internet only show an orange bug, I've seen those not so frequently, but I definitely know what the squash vine borer looks like.

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scarletdaisies
Original Author
13 years ago
I also just found a 1 inch skinny worm with brown segmented body, white on underside, white you can see in the segments of top. Does this worm/nematode eat svb larvae? I found it in one of my squash plants.

Lucky I went out for another hit looking at stems. I killed two and burried the vines underground.

Can you tell if it's a beneficial? I didn't find the white vine borer larvae. I scraped it out with the knife, cut deeper on both ends until I saw no damage, but still no larvae.
scarletdaisies
Original Author
13 years ago
Okay, I'm the only answering my own questions. I think the hard shell brown worm, that is only half inch long, sorry, is a type of millipede, a baby one? They eat decaying organic matter, so they must have horned in on the borer larvae.

I'm going to say the bug originally mentioned looking like SVB was a SVB with a birth defect. The bug does not look like the horned worm tomato moth, but both bugs are similar, or at least to me, to the SVB.

Does that sit well with anyone, is anyone listening? Well, it's been a busy and annoying day with bugs for me.
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Update that marigolds and nasturtiums without flowers did not repel the svb,neither did my homemade concoction of tobacco, redpeppers, black pepper, vegetable oil, and dish soap. It rained a few hours after I applied it, today new eggs all over them. I'm giving up organic at least with the svb, trying stuff with methoxychor, or best I've heard yet is this: "A second planting of summer squash made in early July will mature after adult borers have finished laying eggs. " Another nice suggestion: "Mulches are known to harbor squash bugs" http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/squash_pest.html "Iowa State University Organics Research Program conducted trials of various control methods for squash bug and squash vine borer. Researchers found that mulching with newspaper and hay, combined with tightly secured row covers on the plots (a level 2 control), provided very effective control of both weeds and squash bugs in pumpkin (C. pepo)Âespecially in the wet season of 2002.(4, 5) The row covers apparently excluded squash bugs, preventing them from entering to lay eggs. Gauze row covers (e.g., ReemayÂ, AgriforceÂ, AgribonÂ, TufbellÂ) [Section 205.206(b)(1),(2),(3)] physically exclude pests and prevent them from reaching the plants in large numbers. Preventive strategies have become more important with recognition of A. tristis as a probable disease vector. Hand picking and trapping of A. tristis, or slitting each vine to remove the larva, in the case of M. satyriniformis, represent attempts to control pests after they have begun rearing another generation in numbers sufficient to cause economic damage and pest buildup. Such labor-intensive controls may be uneconomical for large plantings." "Some products acceptable in organic vegetable production that are effective against squash bugs include diatomaceous earth, sabodilla, and neem oil. Growers that anticipate using materials to control heavy pest infestations must list these materials and the circumstances for their use in their organic systems plan. This plan must be submitted to and approved by the organic certifier before the producer uses any material." What is a sabodilla? I found a tree by that name, is it the same thing? Here is a link that might be useful: svb info
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I can spot them pretty easily. A single deep brown dot on the pale green leaves and stems. The dark green of the base of the zucchini is tougher. And there are little spots among the flower stems and such that are tricky. My control methods: 1. catch and kill moths if I can (a butterfly net helps, but they're quick) 2. check for eggs every few days (check for squash bug clusters at the same time. 3. dust the vines once a week or so with rotenone, which (hopefully) will kill any larvae that hatch from eggs I missed. I don't like using rotenone that much, so I use a paintbrush to dust the vines. A paintbrush helps you get the powder just where you want it, without it going everwhere. 4. Look daily for signs of borer activity (a moist sawdust-like stuff coming out of a hole near the base of the plant), so I have a chance to cut open the vine and kill the borer before it does too much damage. It's a pain, but I like squash.
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The sub-pic with the most circled are of feeder roots an Atlantic Giant pumpkin puts out at each node if buried or touching the soil... the vine was repositioned and the roots got exposed/uncovered... the pic's a little blurry but it goes to show they even laid eggs on the roots! The top sectional pic, three circled, is a vein/rib on the underside of a leaf. Your question about just sacrificing the leaf: The leaf stem is hollow, they get inside and head downward to the base of the stalk and will try boring into the vine. Don't believe what you hear about they aim for the first 3 feet of the vine! On an AG pumpkin, I've even found eggs on the yet-to-unfurl ends of vines at 20+ feet from the stump. The new growth with all the "to-be" vines at the end is "tender vittles" to them--softer & easier to bore into. And the leaf underside vein/rib [on that AG pumpkin] was about 24-30" above the ground. The right sectional pic with 1 egg on the stalk was up about 5-6 inches from the ground. There are maybe 2 possible ways to use the floating row cover successfully. 1. Use a plastic or heavy fabric weed barrier over the ground with the hole for the plant relatively small and in a different area than previous years PLUS use a floating row cover or screen over the plant, completely sealed along the edges, and hand pollinate when flowers are seen and immediately recover/reseal. The weed barrier would prevent them from emerging from the soil under the row cover, and if the stump hole or slit in the weed barrier is small and in a different location they may never find the opening--kinda like a person falling thru the ice in a lake and getting disoriented where the hole is if a current moves you further away. 2. Maybe silly or too much work would be to use row cover cut into long strips (like a roll of it 3-5" wide) and wrap it around the vine as it grows, kinda like you'd wrap electrical tape around a wire or wiring harness, always overlapping. You can do this on leaf stalks too, but it all seems like too much work, plus may constrict the plant's growth as the vine thickens. In theory, doesn't sound bad, but in reality, nearly impossible to do. Others say use tin foil and just form it around the vine. I don't think any kind of direct contact cloth or foil is really practical--they may just move to a different part of the plant not covered completely. AG growers often cover the vines with soil about an inch or more deep... it provides extra rooting areas too..but you still have to worry about exposed stalks & leaves, plus you must insure you're not burying a part of the vine that already has eggs deposited. Mark
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Oh, I've definitely seen them before. I started gardening about four years ago, and planted summer squash for the first time. I had some real beauties, and then they started wilting and not producing. I did an Internet search (based on reading posts from this forum, actually), and after checking the plants, lo and behold I saw the frass and those little satanic worms in each plant. I swear I thought I was going to cry. I was only able to save a few of them. They are seriously evil! Incidentally, I'm in zone 7b.
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remy_gw
13 years ago
Scarlet,
Check out the link below. Did the bug look like that?
The hard shell worm type thing might of been a wire worm.
Remy

Here is a link that might be useful: Squash Vine Borer
scarletdaisies
Original Author
13 years ago
No, but the same size and very similar. The whole bug was black including the wings with one 1/2 inch strip of orange in the middle of the body. I've seen squash vine borers though, and it was similar by size and scary wings. It wasn't a tomato horned worm wasp either, they are checkered or something like that, not like this one.

Thanks for the reply.
namfon
13 years ago
Hi Scarlet,

Could it be : {{gwi:73365}}
scarletdaisies
Original Author
13 years ago
This bug may have been 3 inches long, with long black wings, just like that of a squash vine borer, but it's body was all black with one wide bright orange strip going across the middle area of the bug. I think it was squash vine borer moth, it definitely flew away after it landed and stared me down for a few minutes.

I almost started to leap on top of it to kill it, but I figured the thing would fly in my face and bite me because I would miss. It's identical to the squash vine borer, so maybe a malfunction at birth discoloring him? It's not the lady bug larvae, it was a full grown moth wasp type insect. A big ugly one at that.

Thanks for the reply! I've got my eyes and ears open. It will come again while I have a camera in my hand, I hope.
scarletdaisies
Original Author
13 years ago
I found him! I'll forgive him for the attack! He's a mydas fly!

{{gwi:73366}}

FIGURE 1. While mydas flies (Musca clavata) bare a strong resemblance to wasps, they are in fact true flies belonging to Order Diptera.

{{gwi:73367}}

FIGURE 3. Mydas flies have a striking orange-yellow colored half-band on the abdomen. Notice also that mydas flies do not have stingers (they are true flies).

Here is a link that might be useful: Mydas Fly

Squash Vine Borer Look-a-like

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Squash Vine Borer Look-a-like

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