mapper
Veteran Member
I have been fighting a daily battle with aphids on my peppers this year. They seem to be impervious to most insecticides that I am willing to use on my food plants, so I have been washing them off every morning for since late April. A few days ago I noticed a small (1/8") worm looking thing on one of the pepper plants, thinking it was a small slug I picked it off and crushed it. I realized quickly that it was not a slug as it was not slimy, I then found another one, it didn't seem to be causing any damage, and with further observation there seemed to be a lot less aphids near it.
I knew it was not a ladybug larva, so I did a bit of research (love that Google), and was able to identify it. It is a gall midge larva or to be a bit more precise, maggot, as a gall midge is a type of fly. Most gall midges cause some damage to plants their maggots burrow in and cause galls to form. This one does not, it's called aphid eater and although I have only seen a few there must be a lot hiding because the aphid population is way down. I still have a few but now I am not having to hose off the plants every morning. My reading indicates that when they have a good food source they will actually reproduce in the maggot stage birthing new maggots without going through the adult stage and laying eggs.
I knew it was not a ladybug larva, so I did a bit of research (love that Google), and was able to identify it. It is a gall midge larva or to be a bit more precise, maggot, as a gall midge is a type of fly. Most gall midges cause some damage to plants their maggots burrow in and cause galls to form. This one does not, it's called aphid eater and although I have only seen a few there must be a lot hiding because the aphid population is way down. I still have a few but now I am not having to hose off the plants every morning. My reading indicates that when they have a good food source they will actually reproduce in the maggot stage birthing new maggots without going through the adult stage and laying eggs.
