Surprisingly, so far only once this year have I observed downy woodpeckers extracting the larvae of the carrot seed moth out of the hollow stems of cow parsnip. In years past, I saw the woodpeckers on the cow parsnip all the time, usually feeding juveniles.
The evidence of the presence of the moths is the seed heads have been eaten and there are small holes bored into the stems of the plant. I opened a few stems at these holes, and I found the larvae which has small black spots on it. It looks like the caterpillars are also eating the plant on the inside of the stem. I also found little, brown cocoons which I am guessing are also the same moth.
It is amazing to see the transformation of this plant. It grows so tall developing huge leaves in the spring and early summer. Its umbrellas of white flowers are so prominent on the landscape. Now the plant is brown with shriveled leaves. Many of the plants have fallen over or broken in half leaving only the stalks standing.
