I found these tiny larvae type guys on a plant, and I'm not sure if they're friend or foe. They look like they're snuffling around, and move extremely rapidly for their awkward size; I kind of associate their behavior with a predatorial, seek and destroy type thing, but my fear is that they're looking for peppers instead of say aphids. I'll try to post some pics later, but they really don't seem to be eating the leaves, just rapidly sloughing across and under them in search of something. Any ideas?
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Tiny larvae snuffling around
- Thread starter Richard Pwnsner
- Start date
Syrphid Fly Larva-good guys.
http://mint.ippc.orst.edu/syrphid.htm
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/NE/syrphid_flies.html
There are a lot of different looking larvas.
The ones I had looked like clear gray slugs.
Others were like the green one.
It might be different kinds or just different stages of the Larva.
They really keep their front ends moving around.Reminds me of a dog trying to snoop something out.
They move pretty fast sniffing above and below leaves.
Some of the Syrphid flies here are silver and black rather than yellow and black.
I see both the silver and black ones and theyellow and black ones, the stripes are different on the different ones too.
http://mint.ippc.orst.edu/syrphid.htm
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/NE/syrphid_flies.html
There are a lot of different looking larvas.
The ones I had looked like clear gray slugs.
Others were like the green one.
It might be different kinds or just different stages of the Larva.
They really keep their front ends moving around.Reminds me of a dog trying to snoop something out.
They move pretty fast sniffing above and below leaves.
Some of the Syrphid flies here are silver and black rather than yellow and black.
I see both the silver and black ones and theyellow and black ones, the stripes are different on the different ones too.
Oops...double post.
Here he is. Apparently he's satiated for now; there was none of the frantic jerking about of the head/tail.
To explain the awfulness, I nuked my peppers with garlic oil spray a while back and pretty much destroyed all all my superhots and half of the rest. Live and learn.
I have indeed seen a ton of flies around my peppers. I was confused as to what was attracting them absent actual peppers; this may be an explanation. Good to know that they're helping rather than harming!
You can send the pic here
http://bugguide.net/node/view/6/bgimage
for a possible positive ID.
The pointed end is the part doing all the sniffing/moving around?
Thats the head if it's a Syrphid fly Larva.
It looks like it might be a Syrphid fly larva to me.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/6/bgimage
for a possible positive ID.
The pointed end is the part doing all the sniffing/moving around?
Thats the head if it's a Syrphid fly Larva.
It looks like it might be a Syrphid fly larva to me.