Once the eggs hatch, the larvae begin to feed. The larva drops to the soil to pupate and several generations of the pest can be expected each year . Populations often occur initially around field margins, and feeding is largely confined to foliage. As the numbers increase, however, more of the field is likely to be infested. Plant damage results in a burned or scalded appearance of the plant.
Severe infestations can result in fields looking as though they had been sprayed with herbicides.
The worst part is that the worms begin to attack the fruit. Obviously, any fruit damaged by a pinworm is judged unmarketable . Fortunately, several effective tools are now available for dealing with this pest. In many instances, the base of a good pinworm management program consists of using a mating disruption pheromone . The males are attracted to the pheromone and become so disoriented they fail to locate the females.