Though weevils will feed on the foliage of several other weeds and crop plants, they do not lay eggs or develop on any of these other hosts. Damage - The weevils feed externally on foliage, blossom buds, and tender pods. However, they do not cause as much damage as larvae which feed within buds and pods. Infested buds and blossoms fall from plants. The larvae usually feed at the seed core, but occasionally tunnel in the walls of pods.
Infested peppers are black inside and filled with frass.
Infestations usually are not noticed until the stems of young peppers yellow, wither, and cause the fruit to drop. By the time a few fallen pods are noticed, serious damage has occurred already and many more pods can be expected to fall in the following 10 days. Some infested pods turn red or yellow prematurely and may become malformed before dropping to the ground. Life History - Pepper weevils spend the winter on live pepper or nightshade plants in warm areas of southern California, Texas, and Florida. They spread from their overwintering sites each spring by flying or hitchhiking on pepper plants, picking sacks, or fruit on its way to market.