Insects in the Garden 



U. S. D. A. 



FIG. 182. Life history of the 

 squash borer : a, adult male moth ; 

 b, adult female moth ; c, eggs, as 

 they appear on the surface of a 

 squash vine; d, full-grown larva 

 within a portion of the vine; e, 

 pupa; /, outer cell surrounding 

 the pupa. All the figures are about 

 one-third natural size. 



autumn. When fully grown, 

 a grub leaves the plant, bur- 

 rows into the soil, and spins 

 a silky cocoon, within which 

 the pupa forms. Thus it lives 

 over winter. Late in the fol- 

 lowing spring (in June in New 

 Jersey, but earlier southward 

 and later northward) a beauti- 

 ful clear-winged and wasp- 

 like moth emerges from the 

 cocoon and escapes from the 

 soil. This moth is about 



i inch long, with a wing spread of i| inches. Its hind 

 wings are transparent, but the fore wings are opaque 

 and of a brownish color. The adult moth is most readily 

 identified by a conspicuous fringe of orange-colored hairs 

 along the inner side of the hind legs. 



The moths are active during the day but become 

 sluggish toward nightfall, and in the evening they settle 

 on the upper side of the leaves and rest during the 

 night. 



The female moth lays small, dull-red oval eggs along 

 the stems of squash plants, usually near or even just be- 

 low the soil. The eggs are large enough to be seen with 

 the naked eye if one looks closely. The eggs hatch in a 

 few days, and the grubs burrow into the stem, where they 

 feed. They eat out the tissues that carry soil foods and 

 water to and from the leaves, and the plant soon suffers. 

 If several larvae are present in a single stem, the plant 

 usually dies. 



