Zebra swallowtail egg mass9/21/2023 ![]() Unlike milkweed and passion vine, which often get eaten down to the stem, native oak trees can take a lot of damage before it becomes noticeable. If you’re looking to diversify your larval host plants and would rather your vegetable garden didn’t get inundated with pest species, perhaps an oak tree is your best option. ![]() Then you can smush the eggs and larvae when you see them. Using a trap crop like zucchini can attract squash vine borers away from your other plants. Varieties that mature faster will also help you escape the scourge of the squash vine borer before you get a chance to taste the fruits of your labor. ![]() You can also choose varieties that have solid, narrow stems like cucumbers, butternut squash, and cantaloupe. Cultural options for squash vine borers include starting seeds inside in February and planting out in early March, though you will have to weigh the possibility of a freeze killing the plants. Squash vine borers can often lead to total losses in the home garden and up to 25 percent yield losses in commercial production.īecause the larvae are often inside the vine, they can be hard to reach with insecticides. They favor vines with large hollow stems where the caterpillars can burrow in, eat, and remain safe from predators. This species is thankfully less fecund than armyworms, at just 200 eggs expected to be laid in each female’s lifetime.Īs the name implies, squash vine borers prefer plants in the cucurbit family: pumpkins, squash, cucumbers, and even melons. These moths lay their eggs in the early weeks of spring after our last frost and continue through summer. Unlike monarchs, which have a narrow selection of larval host plants, armyworms have more than 80 species they can eat as caterpillars, though they tend to favor grasses.Īnother caterpillar conundrum lurking in the vegetable garden is squash vine borer, Melittia cucurbitae. A female can lay up to 2,000 eggs in her lifetime, with about 100 to 200 eggs per mass. The thing that many of these detested caterpillars have in common is that they don’t metamorphose into beautiful butterflies but become dull moths instead.Īrmyworms, Spodoptera frugiperda, in particular are prolific breeders. Francis Wildlife stops accepting wild birds | Beck Francis Wildlife already at capacity | Beckīird scientist: Penguin scientist and birder Noah Strycker brings joy of birds to Tallahassee talksĪvian flu: After avian flu confirmed in Tallahassee, St. Francis Wildlife: No vacancy: Wild baby season is here and St. Some species even get the common name worm added to them, like armyworms, tomato hornworms, etc., when they’re just as beneficial as the charismatic monarch in the ecosystem. Unlike in a butterfly garden, when we’re growing vegetables or even ornamental plants, caterpillars can be the bane of the gardener’s existence. ![]() This means planting specific larval host plants like milkweed for monarchs, passion vine for gulf fritillaries and zebra longwings, and various members of the carrot family for black swallowtails. When you start a butterfly garden, you want to make sure you have food for the insects at all stages of their life cycle. ![]()
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