Quote Originally Posted by Murfman404 View Post
I would like to know more about this plant and grubs, identification of plant and where located in plant, do all plants like this have these.?

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Sorry, Murf .... I almost forgot I hadn't answered your questions.

The plant is the Giant Ragweed :



They can grow pretty tall ... like 8-10ft tall in some cases ... but what you want to look for is this :



These holes are usually down towards the bottom 2-3ft of the plant. There may be more than one grub using the plant, so check at least the bottom half of the main stalk for these holes.

The grub that is in them is the Common Stalk Borer (a moth larvae) :

These are full grown ones-


And this is what a "juvenile" one looks like :


We always found them along fence rows of farms that were on the county road that led to the lake we were fishing. They are known to infest many other plants, including corn, but getting them from stands of the Giant Ragweed could be done more easily.

We always threaded them on the hook, inserting the hook in the "tail end" and bringing the hook point out just under the head (where you see the three dark clawed feet on the picture above).

You'll need a sharp knife & a bucket or bag (to hold the stalk sections you cut). You'll want to cut at least a 2-3ft section of stalk, with the hole being more or less in the middle of that section. The grubs will usually stay inside the stalk sections unless they get extremely hot or shaken hard in transport. When you get to the lake & start using them, to insure you don't cut the grub in half, insert the knife point at the hole and twist it, splitting the stalk, then continue pulling the stalk open until you find the grub. We always used a cloth bag (grain bag), but that was almost 60yrs ago & that's what we had handy.

And again ... watch for snakes & wasps, and wear plenty of repellent to keep the chiggars & ticks off of you. Long sleeve shirt/pants are probably a good idea too, even in the August heat, as you'll want to put the repellent (with high % of DEET) on your clothes rather than your skin.

NOTE: I don't recommend anyone with a Ragweed allergy or Acute Asthma to get into these plants, especially when they're blooming. Just sayin' !!