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| Squash Vine Borer (c) High Virginia Images |
Three things are usually to blame when our once proudly standing squash plant begin to droop, sag and just get plain yucky looking. Bacterial Wilt which is spread by squash bugs, cucumber beetles and a host of other crawling critters is very common in our area. Powdery Mildew is the white patches and splotches you see. It doesn't seem to kill the plant, unless it gets real bad. It just makes things unsightly. I think most of mine that ends up in the garden comes from some upwind phlox plants.
The one thing that kills my plants is the Squash Vine Borer (Melittia cucurbitae) this strange looking moth lays eggs in the stems of young squash plants. The plump cream colored caterpillar then feeds inside the hollow squash stems, sometimes quickly killing the plant. My white patty pan squash seem to be the favorite for these moths. You have to admit, though that the moth is kind of cool looking.
Posted by High Virginia Outdoors
