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mommomsgarden

Unknown creature!

mommomsgarden
10 years ago

What is this on my tomato plant?!!

Comments (12)

  • theforgottenone1013 (SE MI zone 5b/6a)
    10 years ago

    It's a tomato hornworm. Kill it and look for more of them.

    Rodney

  • Deborah-SC
    10 years ago

    it's a hornworm -- kill it & all others!!

  • uscjusto
    10 years ago

    Looking at the size of your hornworm, you should have also noticed a lot of chewed leaves, holes in leaves, and a lot of caterpillar poop on leaves and near the base of the plant.

  • CaraRose
    10 years ago

    They're tomato eating machines. They'll feed on peppers and eggplants too, so if you have those, check them as well as your tomato plants.

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    10 years ago

    Not that it matters one single bit in regards to the damage they do, but the caterpillar in the image is the Tobacco Hornworm (Manduca sexta), not the Tomato hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculata).

    The former cat has a red 'horn' and 7 distinct stripes. Look for a black 'horn' and 7 or 8 V-shaped markings along the sides of the tobacco hornworm.

    The tobacco hornworm is far more common...I don't think that I've ever seen anyone post a picture of the real tomato hornworm in the GardenWeb.

  • wertach zone 7-B SC
    10 years ago

    Someone forgot to mention something! If it has Parasitic Wasp eggs on it leave it alone!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Wasp eggs

  • woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a
    10 years ago

    After you get as many as the large ones that you can "see" by hand, get on a BT spraying regimen -- totally safe and organic and only kills caterpillars. Available at ANY garden center.

    Kevin

  • mommomsgarden
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thank you! Are these common? Where do they come from? I flicked him off with a 4ft pole. He flew into the packasandras. I don't think I saw any ore but I barely saw him!!

  • woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a
    10 years ago

    They're common when you're growing veggies in the nightshade family. They'll also create a ton of damage in a very short time.

    Yes. They're very difficult to see. Especially when your plants are fully grown. That's why I start spraying BT about a month after I put my transplants out. Every 2-3 weeks, whether i see damage or not. It brings me great peace of mind to not have to worry to walk out one day and see my tomatoes or peppers ravaged.

    Where did it come from? hawk moth or sphinx moth, depending on which variety. Apparently they're out at night, adults and caterpillars. That's another thing about "seeing" them. I can barely see one in full daylight because they blend in so well. The only time I've ever found them is by accident -- never when I was actively searching.

    Another note -- if the BT doesn't get all of them, it's because they're a bit older and larger. In that case, try spinosad, more effective at the larger ones. But Spinosad will harm beneficials, like bees. So, wait until dusk to spray it.

    Good luck.

    Kevin

  • mommomsgarden
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks. What's this about the eggs? They become wasps?!

  • CaraRose
    10 years ago

    There are small parasitic wasps that lay their eggs on these guys. The young eat their way out and form cocoons on the outside of the hornworm. The weakened hornworm will die before being able to pupate, but the cocoons will hatch and more wasps will go out in the world and attack and feed on more hornworms.

  • jean001a
    10 years ago

    Those white things on hornworms aren't eggs. They are pupal cases.

    Here's how it works:
    The wasp eggs were inserted into the caterpillar.
    The eggs hatched inside a well-provisioned cafeteria.
    The wasp larvae ate until their next life stage.
    The wasp larvae exited the caterpillar and formed pupae inside those white cases on the exterior of the caterpillar.
    The next stage is when the adult wasps -- very tiny things - exit the pupal cases.

    TaDa! Bio-control in action.

    FWIW: I don't see a pupal case on the OP's image.
    I think it's the end of one of the normal white lines on a tobacco hornworm..

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