These caterpillars are flesh colored with light small round spots and may attack the stems of some vegetables. They commonly feed on fruit of pepper of corn. What pest is this?

• A. European corn borer
• B. squash vine borer
• C. common stalk borer
• D. southwestern corn borer

Answer: (A)

Caterpillars described as pale, flesh-colored with light round spots that bore into stems and into the fruit of crops like corn and peppers point to the European corn borer. This species is well-known for tunneling into both corn ears and pepper fruits, causing internal damage and frass at entry holes. The other pests have different primary hosts or damage patterns: squash vine borer targets squash rather than corn or peppers; common stalk borer mainly enters stems and culms rather than fruit; southwestern corn borer is a related pest but is less commonly described with peppers in many regions. So the host range and boring habit described align best with the European corn borer.