Florida Agricultural Experiment Station


 Control.-The pickle worm, because it feeds in the interior
of the buds, blossoms and fruits, cannot be reached by arsenical
sprays. The grower should carefully collect and destroy all
wormy fruit. If these wormy cucum-
bers and melons are left in the field the
caterpillars will enter fresh ones, or
complete their growth and enter the
ground to emerge as moths in a week
or two. The moth lays enough eggs
to hatch into about 300 more worms. 0 .
 The best preventivemeasure against FvM2. A .-P i c k r
both of these worms is a trap crop. For size. (Original.)
this purpose plant from 4 to 8 rows of early summer crook-
necked squash for each acre of cucumbers or cantaloupes. (Fig.
93.) The large blossoms and leaves and the tender fruits of
the squash are preferred by the moths to either cucumbers or
melons, and most of the eggs will be laid on the squash. It is
better to make several plantings of the squash to provide a


FIG. 93.--Trap crop of squash for pickle and melon worms in cantaloupe
 field. (From No. Car. Agr. Exp. Sta.)

succession of blossoms and fruits attractive to the moths. The
first planting should be made at the same time as that of the
cucumbers or melons, and other plantings at intervals of a week.