Larvae eating seeds

Jane McGary janemcgary@earthlink.net
Wed, 15 Aug 2012 22:13:20 PDT
I've been harvesting seeds from the Calochortus species I grow and 
was surprised to find that some of the pods had been infested with 
small white grubs that had eaten seeds. Fortunately, only a dozen or 
so capsules were involved, but I'm now wondering what these insects 
might be (no, I didn't keep any to raise!). I never found them at my 
former home in the foothills. Does anyone, preferably on the US west 
coast, know of an insect that attacks Calochortus or other Liliaceae pods?

I also wonder if I can prevent an attack next year by treating the 
plants with BT (Bacillus thuringiensis) insecticide, or is it only 
specific to Lepidoptera larvae? I don't know whether these larvae are 
those of a moth or a fly.

Jane McGary
Portland, Oregon, USA




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