The other day I went out among the hops to find several leaves wilting away with a little droop.

I noticed all the sad leaves were in the same area and I started to get concerned. You see hops are vulnerable to all kinds of pests and diseases. I was worried that something was attacking my plants and I was on the verge of watching them all shrivel up before my eyes, but no one was going to mess with my little girls without me putting up a fight so I began to investigate. After examining a few leaves I finally flipped one over to look at the bottom and that is when I found the most heinous and vile creature I have ever set eyes on.

I instantly knew what I had to do.

I inspected all the leaves and killed over one hundred of the plant murdering devil worms before I realized that I may be decimating the entire future butterfly population of Maryland. So I captured the remainder and relocated them far far away.

It turns out that the caterpillars were biting into the central vein of the leaves and sipping away all the nutrients and moisture. Luckily I found them early and they only destroyed about 10% of the leaves on three of the seventeen plants.

Beer Spy and Bug Fighter. I’m like a beer sleuthing Starship Trooper!

To all hop growers in Annapolis, this is your worst enemy: