What's eating into these pods? Photos. UPDATE:6/27...The culprit has been identified!

[Roguejim]

These are primarily MOAs that are being bored into.  I've torn several apart, but find nothing.  Holes can be either on top, or bottom.
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

[JoynersHotPeppers]

I wonder if it is slugs...flashlight and nighttime might shed more light.....
 
 
I found a handful of the most perfect Naga Morich on the ground yesterday with holes just like that...nothing inside

 

[romy6]

 I would say birds 

 

[Roguejim]

I wonder if it is slugs...flashlight and nighttime might shed more light.....
 
 
I found a handful of the most perfect Naga Morich on the ground yesterday with holes just like that...nothing inside

I'll check tonight.  Slugs are not normally a problem here, though.
 

 I would say birds 

Nah.  Holes are too small, and underneath.  I guess tiny birds could get underneath the plants and pick at the MOAs, but I don't really see it.  What about earwigs?  We have those here.

 

[geeme]

My best guess, given the time of year and your location (and excluding slugs and snails) would be caterpillars.

 

[juanitos]

slugs / caterpillers are on mine making holes like that.

 

[Roguejim]

Okay. I haven't seen a caterpillar in years. Guess I'd better look close.

 

[Bomparty]

Could it be mice?

 

[Roguejim]

I'll report back after some midnight sleuthing.

 

[Roguejim]

I have reached a tentative verdict that the offending insect (not mammal, or bird) is the reptilian Earwig.  I base this on the fact that it was the only insect I saw, and there were several.  They seem to have a penchant for MOAs and Bahamian Goat peppers.  Now, to find a way to dispatch them...
 
From the Net..."Sometimes ripened fruits are infested, but damage is usually tolerable. It can be particularly damaging to seedlings. Earwigs also play a beneficial role in the garden, acting as scavengers on decaying organic matter and predators of insect larvae, snails, aphids and other slow moving bugs. They are often carried great distances in produce shipments and other freight."
 
You know, the fact that they eat aphids might be reason to sacrifice a few pods, as long as only a few are damaged.  If it gets to where I am losing too many, there is always Sevin, or pyrethrins.  Does anyone know if the earwigs must be sprayed directly with pyrethrins, or if just spraying the foliage and pods will suffice?