Squash vine borer
The squash vine borer is a moth that flies in the daytime and looks a lot like a wasp. It has bright orange, fuzzy scales on its back legs. Its caterpillar lives hidden inside the stems of squash and pumpkin plants.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
People often think it is a bee or a wasp because of the way it moves.
The mother lays her eggs low on the plant, near where the leaf stalks start.
Often the first sign of it is a plant that suddenly wilts, because the caterpillar is eating the stem inside.
Some gardeners wrap the bottom of the stems in foil or old stockings so the moth cannot lay eggs there.
A yellow bowl of water attracts the moths, so gardeners can see how many there are.
Most asked questions about Squash vine borer
?Is the squash vine borer a wasp?
No. It is a moth that looks and moves like a wasp. It cannot sting.
?Why is my squash plant wilting?
It might have a squash vine borer caterpillar inside its stem. Look for a little hole with crumbly sawdust near the bottom.
?What does the squash vine borer eat?
Its caterpillar eats the inside of squash, zucchini and pumpkin stems.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Melittia cucurbitae
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Sesiidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Sesiidae
- Lives on
- North America, South America
Where the facts come from
- Squash vine borer (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by unknown author. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
Atlas moth
Luna moth
Hummingbird hawk-moth
Domestic silk moth
Isabella tiger moth
Polyphemus moth
Carolina wolf spider
Red spider mite
Eastern lubber grasshopper
Carolina mantis
Greenhouse millipede
Northern paper wasp