It is hard to tell what particular pest destroyed your squash plants. Squash Vine Borers and Squash bugs are very likely. It appears there are a few things going on here. Something is making a meal out of the leaves, and from appearance of the blossoms (as best we can see in this picture), there may be a pollinator issue as well. Squash bugs, and borers, adult beetles and nymphs, chew holes in leaves, and heavy infestations can reduce yields significantly
Squash Bug adults look like long brown stink bugs, with a flat abdomen. Nymphs are pale green to grey with a black head and legs. Older nymphs are covered in a grey powder. The eggs are oval, dark brown, and shiny, and are layed in clusters. Once they become numerous they are almost impossible to stop. Check with your local organic garden center for the best way to proceed.
Squash vine borer adults look like black wasps with red markings, they lay single eggs that hatch out as larva– they look similar to a cream colored caterpillar. These larva tunnel into the crown and stems of the plant, and proceed to eat the juicy green inner plant tissue. The plant suddenly looks wilted and if the larva is allowed to go unchecked, can kill the plant in 3-4 days. Do daily checks of the crown areas, your looking for what appears to be piles of wet saw dust, this is actually frass, caterpillar poop. This is where they enter the stem and began to eat. If caught early you can gently cut a slit in the stem and pluck the culprit out.
Leave A Comment