BeneficialSquash bug
Tachinid flies for squash bug
Tachinidae · wild parasitoid
Against squash bug
Trichopoda pennipes lays its white eggs on adult squash bugs, and the larva kills the bug when it emerges. Reported parasitism of adults is about 20% in late-summer collections in Connecticut and 12% on average in coastal Virginia; Cornell's guide says it may reach 80%, but parasitised bugs keep feeding and laying eggs for some time, and the fly does not always prevent crop damage. Leave any bug with white eggs on its back alone, and keep hand-picking the rest.
RateWild — keep nectar plants near the crop, no broad-spectrum sprays
TimingSummer, while adult squash bugs are on the vines
macro · tachinid flies on squash bug
The pestSquash bugAnasa tristisWilting runners, speckled leaves that yellow and brownFull pest profile →Before you act
Bristly, housefly-like flies whose larvae develop inside other insects. The small white eggs glued to a squash bug or caterpillar mean a tachinid has already found it. How to recognise it, what it is confused with and how to keep it around are on the full Tachinid flies profile.
Other controls for squash bug
- Ground beetlesWild predator · wild, attract it
- LadybugsWild predator · wild, attract it