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pest Corn Borer in Annuum and Baccatum.

Thanks to @Bou for the help with Id on this. So many colors of corn borers, I initially blew past it. These guys are terrorizing our pendant type Annuum and Baccatum this year.
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Yeah, looks like pepper weevils.

It's fine that you're averse to chemicals or pesticides, since there really isn't a good chemical or pesticide solution for pepper weevils. Once an adult lays eggs in the pepper, chemicals and pesticides can't get to the larva until they bore their way out. Then they fly off.

Here's the suggestions I've picked up searching the internet...

(1) More vigilant housekeeping. Find the peppers that show damage, or have fallen to the ground. Don't allow the peppers that fall off the plant to lay there, and police your plants for damaged pods. Make sure and discard of these peppers in a way that won't allow any of the larva to mature.

... or ...

(2) This one's a tough pill to swallow. :( Crop Rotation. If the infestation becomes too bad, you may have no other solution than to forgo peppers for a year, or just live with the damage as it occurs.

Usually, people in 5a growing zones don't have too much trouble with these. The winter will usually keep them from becoming too much of a nuisance. However, if you have a heated green house, or have some other practice that provides them sanctuary for the winter, then they can become a bigger problem.

For my part, I'm trying to stay with the housekeeping solution, but I still have a fair number of damaged pods.
 
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So, none of this is checking out. This chubby little guy is about 20-25mm.. And reminds me more of an armyworm. He was totally enclosed in the pepper, and there was no obvious entry. I haven't tried looking it up yet, but it's definitely not one of the usual suspects I'm aware of. Anyone?
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Thanks Bou! Looks to be the one! Quite a variety of them around.
Well I lost some peppers this year also because of them (first time for me), with slugs as a bonus... 🤦‍♂️
 
I heard that.. Seems like we have similar environments. Mostly the slugs eat the pedicels, but they sure make me long to have a few red-belly racers around.
Like you said, as you can se on this SRP Bell harvested earlier today!
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Could be but I'm mot sure as it's not something I see often in my garden. I did find a dead ant inside the pod though!
 

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