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By WituiAM J. Rem, Jr., and FRANK P. CUTHBERT, Jr., 
entomologists, Entomology Research Division, Agricul- 
tural Research Service 
The insect known as the pickleworm ”~ gets 
its name from the fact that it feeds on cucum- 
bers, although it feeds on all cucurbit plants. It 
attacks only the growing plants and fruits. 
The pickleworm causes serious damage to 
cucumber, summer squash, and cantaloup in all 
the South Atlantic and Gulf States and occa- 
sionally causes damage as far west as Oklahoma 
and Nebraska, and as far north as Iowa and 
Connecticut. Unless effective control measures 
are used, profitable production of these crops 
usually is impossible when the insect becomes 
abundant. The insect sometimes attacks other 
cucurbit crops, including winter squash, pump- 
kin, watermelon, and gourd, and several wild 
cucurbit plants. 
DEVELOPMENT 
Adults of the pickleworm are moths. Their bodies and 
wings, viewed from above, are yellowish brown and have 
a purple sheen. The wingspread is about 114 inches. 
At the tip of the abdomen the moths have a brushlike 
appendage, which they wave while resting. 
The female moths lay eggs at night, singly and in 
clusters, among the hairs on flower and leaf buds, tender 
leaves, and stalks or vines, and on young fruits. The 
* Diaphania nitidalis. 
