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Something is eating my chilli plant!

J

JamieThompson

Hi guys, can someone help identify what is harming my chilli plant? 
 
As you can see in the picture, it seems to be growing healthy-looking chillis, but the leafs look like something has been munching them, and there is white dotting. 
 
Can anyone identify and advise me on how to treat it? 
 
IMG_20200626_141059.jpg

 
Thanks in advance!
 
I'd say the spots are likely unrelated, but the munch looks like hornworm or cutworm attack.
 
They hide in the dirt at the base of the plant during the day, come out to the buffet after dark. I have been able to find them by scratching around that dirt, about a half inch deep, and I have found them, right after a drenching rain, hiding in the new growth. 
 
You can come out with a flashlight after dark and find them actually eating...I've personally never found more than one per plant, YMMV....
 
Some kind of cut worm. Hornworm damage would be far more sever and they love to top the new tender leaves. They will look like a hedge trimmer hit the top more than just partially eaten leaves.
 
Hose it down with Neem oil and keep it out of the sun a little while after spraying it.....and i mean spray it until its soaking wet with neem. Its harmless to humans. Might need to do it a couple times but the stuff stops nearly anything that eats plants.
 
Those half-circle cuts look like the damage caused by leaf cutter bees. I have them too. They use the leaf pieces to build their nests. Even though the damage can look really ugly, it doesn't seem to seriously harm or even set back the pepper plants. Also, the bees are considered beneficial and are good pollinators. I don't even worry about them any more, but if it really bothers you, mosquito netting will keep leaf cutter bees off of your pepper plants.
 
I've had similar thing this year. I went out at night with UV light looking for caterpillars, didn't see anything. First time I've had that type of damage. 
 
I agree with others. After further research, I concluded it was leaf cutters. The plants seem to be doing just great otherwise.
 
I'm having a record harvest of cucumbers, so anything I can do to keep bees around I'm all for it. Even if that means them cutting circles out of my peppers, so long as they keep making peppers, I'm all good.
 
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