124 MANUAL OF VEGETABLE-GARDEN INSECTS 

 The Squasii-Vine Borer 



Melittia satyriniformis Hiibner 



111 many localities the squash-vine borer is the most injurious 

 insect enemy of the squash and pumpkin. It also attacks 

 cucumber and melon. It is most destructive to late squashes, 

 such as Hubbard and ^Marrowfat. The insect ranges from 

 Canada, through the states east of the Rocky Mountains south- 

 ward into South America. 



The moths appear in the fields as early as April or ^lay in 

 Georgia and North Carolina, in early June in New Jersey and 

 a little later in Connecticut, or at about the time that early 

 cucurbits have come up. The moth has an expanse of 1 to 1^ 

 inches ; the front wings are opaque, nearly black in color with 

 metallic greenish reflections in certain lights ; the hind wings 

 are transparent and scales are present only along the margin 

 and on the veins. The abdomen is marked with red or orange ; 

 the hind legs are long and ornamented with tufts of long orange, 

 black and white hairs. The moths fly in the heat of the day 

 and when on the wing are often mistaken for wasps. In the 

 evening they may be seen resting on the leaves of the vines 

 and are then easily caught. The female moth deposits her 

 eggs on the stem of the vine near the base, while the plants are 

 small and later at almost any point. The egg is about ^ inch 

 in length, dull red in color, oval in outline, flattened on the side 

 of attachment and has an impressed area on the upper side. 

 The shell is very brittle. Each moth is capable of laying over 

 two hundred eggs, but the average number is probably some- 

 what less. The eggs hatch in six to fifteen days. The young 

 caterpillar soon enters the vine and then burrows through the 

 stem, preferably towards the root but often in the opposite 

 direction. Later in the season the larvae may be found in all 

 parts of the stem and even in the leaf petioles and in the fruit. 



