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Cucumber plant infested with some kind of pest?

16 years ago

I've got some cucumber plants in hanging containers that have just recently begun to show signs of some sort of infestation. The pests in question are about 3 to 4 millimeters in length, don't have any legs that I can see, move very slowly, and are rather slug-like. At first I though maybe they were Lady Bug larvae but after some searching they certainly aren't (as far as I can tell- though that is one infestation I would be glad for).

This is my first year with vegetable gardening so my experience with identifying these things is very limited. I've already sprayed the plants with a neem oil solution just in case it's something to be worried about- hopefully I haven't killed some beneficial organism. Any idea what it is? Sorry for the poor quality of the photo but my camera has a lousy macro mode.

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Comments (4)

jean001
16 years ago
Perhaps a syrphid fly larva. If so, yes, you did kill a beneficial.
Carol_Ann
16 years ago
I can't tell from the photo, sorry! and I don't know pests in your zone well. It's always a good idea to get an ID on the suspect before you zap them -- many insects are beneficials or at least won't harm your plants. If you have neighbors who are gardeners, that's a good place to start, or take the pest to your local garden center (not a box store, but a locally-owned garden center where the staff is experienced and knowledgeable -- just be careful if they're more interested in selling you a solution than telling you what you have), or there's always the local master gardeners program/cooperative extension service. Good luck!
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kinetikx
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for the replies everyone. After some image searching they do seem to resemble Syrphid fly larvae. Crap- it figures that the first time I use pest control it turns out to be on a beneficial insect. I'll just chalk this up as yet another first year mistake (one in a long line of them so far). Luckily it was only neem oil- hopefully I'll see more of these guys in the future.
jean001
16 years ago
Gardening is a series of live-and-learn lessons. They happen to all of us.

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