Population Dynamics of the Pickleworm and the Melonworm (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in Florida

Abstract

Larvae and adults of the pickleworm, Diaphania nitidalis Stoll, and of the melonworm, Diaphania hyalinata L., were sampled in southern and central Florida during 1983 and 1984. Pickleworm (PW) larvae on cultivated hosts were found during the winter in south Florida (0.68–1 larva per m2), and appeared during the spring in central Florida. Major cultivated hosts for the pickleworm in the overwintering sites were squash and zucchini ( Cucurbita pepo L.), whereas the major host for the melonworm (MW) was the Cuban pumpkin, Cucurbita moschata Duchesne. Native hosts of the PW and MW, i.e., Melothria pendula and Momordica charantia , supported PW and MW larvae during the fall in central and south Florida and during the winter in southern Florida. Adult PW were trapped during the winter only in the Florida Keys and in south Florida.