[ulsterfairy]

Hello all, I'm hoping someone can help me!! My hubby and I have recently taken on a really overgrown allotement.  We are getting there with clearing it but have the minimum growing at present.  However the other allotement holders have been so generous and have shared some of their surplus produce Potatos in particular.  Today whilst preparing some for cooking a noticed a small hole in 1 potato, i pealed a bit away and discovered loads for tiny white maggoty things.  I cant find anything to match online so was wondering if any1 can tell me what they are? Mostly because I want to grow organically and want to be as on the ball as possible with preventative measures on my own plot!!!

[Aunt Sally]

Perhaps wire worm or cut worm:

http://www.potato.org.uk/department/knowledge_transfer/pests_and_diseases/viewer.html?type=pests

[Old Tom]

Can`t help with your problem but wanted to say hello and don`t worry. Someone with more experience will help you out. This is a fantastic site for that!

[ulsterfairy]

I thought wireworm initially (well after asking my dad, Im clueless otherwise), and found a few on my plot today when digging up an area with grass!!! The larvae pics online didnt seem to match but I will have a look at the cutworm.  They really were tiny little things i nearly didnt see them?? The plot they came from also has black slugs would they have anything to the little blighters!!!

Thanks \\old Tom its my first time on the site and seems good - just been reading some older posts as well :-)

[Aunt Sally]

Yound wire worm can be quite small and white.  They take about 4 years to grow to maturity.

[Aunt Sally]

Picture bottom of page 4

http://www.mainepotatoipm.com/ipmfactsheets/wireworm.pdf

[ulsterfairy]

Thanks Aunt Sally,
Im still not sure, they were really short from what I could see of them, they wriggled loads, and seemed to be munching away on the outside of the hole they made (or the slugs made). Im wondering if they maybe are not very old wireworms, there were loads of them. The holes on the outside certainly resemble that of the other images on the links but there was only 1.