Ever opened a pea and found some dirty matter inside? This was most probably the work of the Pea Moth.
Pea moth Cydia nigricana are hairy brown moths which seek out peas when they are in bloom and lay eggs on the young pods. The larvae burrow into the immature peas to feed.
On opening a pea pod, some of the peas have dark excrement near them.
Inside infested peas you will find a tiny light grey to brown caterpillar who is culprit of all the damage.
It appears that snow peas don’t seem to be as popular with this little critter – might be due to the actual pea being small and not a good food source of the larvae?
