Flying insect ID help - squash vine borer

I found this insect eating from a milkweed flower and sitting on a milkweed leaf. The legs and abdomen look like a bee, but the wings when resting look like a beetle. I've tried very hard to get an ID but no luck.

Do you know? Also, please share insect ID best practices and resources. I usually use Insect Identification dot org and have pretty good success.

My initial hunch is something in the hummingbird moth family. Exactly which, I'm not sure?

Stacie Kim wrote:My initial hunch is something in the hummingbird moth family. Exactly which, I'm not sure?

That's it! Thanks for your help. Using the aforementioned website it was pretty easy to narrow it down.

Here's hoping he stays away from my veggies!

https://vegento.russell.wisc.edu/pests/squash-vine-borer/

Doh!! Squash vine borers are my avowed enemies. Grrrrrr. I haven't ever seen an adult though. I have found my best prevention against those vile creatures is:

1. Plant seeds inside a hollow can. I usually use pineapple cans that I've opened at the top and bottom, so it looks like a tube or collar that I bury about 75% of in the soil. That helps to keep the larva away from the stems somewhat. It also helps me to visualize where I need to water.

2. Plant as many plants as I can, as early as I dare. I risk losing some to the last frost, but I need to get as much harvest as possible before I lose the plants.

3. Don't compost spent vines. Burn them if possible, or discard in the trash.

Now that I know what the adults look like, I know my enemy a bit better. Thanks for sharing the photos!

Do you grow zucchini or other summer squash? It might have laid eggs near the base already. Check for light yellow frasse, an indication a larva is eating the stem from inside. I lost my vigorously producing zucchini twice to squash vine borers before. I failed to see the signs and got rid of larvae. One day, within hours all plants wilted and gone.

No summer squash but I do have spaghetti squash. Do they like that as well?

Your squash should be safe as the tough stem is more resistant to SVB. This year I hide my summer squashes here and there among the winter squashes and hill up to cover the base. Hopefully that will allure the bugs.

I knew about this tool before, but my plant identification course for horticulture listed iNaturalist as a credible app resource for your phone for use in plant, insect, and animal identification. I am not affiliated in any way with the aforementioned app.

Looking at the pictures, you were quite close enough to get a good identification. I need to upgrade my phone to get the latest versions of the app, but I intend to do so in furtherance of my horticultural study, the first time since I discovered Permies that my permaculture and modern technology had anything to do with each other.

-CK

Yes, I've experienced they do indeed like spaghetti squash.

That glamorous insect is a squash vine borer. It is a native insect so it does have a right to bore squash vines with which it co-evolved on this continent. It clearly plays a role as a pollinator too. However, you might want to use a veil like Remay on your squash plants during its active stage because they can do a real number on those vines.