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The Dectes stem borer larva is up to 5/8 inch long, creamy white, and legless. Adults are about 5/8 inch in length and gray, with white-ringed antennae longer than the body. The adult lays eggs in leaf petioles. After hatching, the larvae tunnel into the main stem and then down to the soil line. Lodging damage results from larvae tunneling and girdling the inside of stems. The pest overwinters as a larva in soybean stubble and damage tends to recur in the same fields when crop rotation is lacking. This is a sporadic problem in parts of the South. |
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| N. Carolina | |||||||||