Insect Damage?

[drathag]

Hi All,
 
My Aji Limos (aji mochero, hot lemon hab whatever you want to call them - they're the chinense ones) are finally starting to ripen up.
 
Some of the pods have some odd black spots on them. It seems to be only cosmetic and they're fine on the inside.
 
I did notice a bunch of aphids on one of the plants today. The plants without the aphids seem to be producing blemish free pods. I've hit them with some eco-oil (hope it works as well for aphids as it does whiteflies) and will continue to monitor. that said I've never heard of aphids attacking the fruit itself.
 
Am I right in assuming the below is the result of those pesky little buggers or is it something more sinister? I plant on making a sauce out of these so I'll just cut out the spots if the rest of the pod is OK.
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[karoo]

Yes , I have seen that on mine.
Thought it was just physical damage , rubbing against a twig in the wind , maybe.

 

[Hawaiianero]

Look a little closer, somethings obviously stinging your pods but make sure it's not laying eggs in them too.
You can isolate a couple damaged pods inside a ziplock for a few days and see if anything crawls out.
 

 

[drathag]

Thanks for the advice. I've put some in a ziplock and I'll see what happens. I've also done a bit of an autopsy on one and cannot see any signs of eggs or damage on the inside of pods with the naked eye, but I suppose it could be smaller than that.
 
On the plus side, I noticed a few happy little ladybug friends on the plants today, so hopefully they can rid me of any nasties.