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Butterfly Garden

Question about 'hummingbird moths'

bean_counter_z4

14 years ago

Has anyone tried raising these . I usually see them about this time of year visiting my phlox David. I'm curious about their food supply. The ones in my area are tomato hornworms. The larva can devastate a tomato plant but I was wondering if they could be switched over to the nightshade plants that are very common here. Anyone know?

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Comments (6)

Butterflyer1966
14 years ago
Hi there,
the Hummingbird Clearwing Moth caterpillars feed here in my area on Honeysuckle,Hawthorn,Viburnum and some Fruittrees I believe..
They are the cutest flyers and really look like a mixture of Hummingbird and Bumblebee..
I have tons of wild-growing Honeysuckle up here, so that is why I have those Moths visiting me in my garden..
About the Five-spotted Hawk Moth, the adult of the Tomato-Hornworm,I would try to move it to other crops, including potato-plants..I always have more tomatos planted so when they decide to move in, they have plenty of food and so do I..lol
Well, Best of Luck, I hope my infos helped you a lil bit..
Butterfly-Greetings
Susanne(SUE)
susanlynne48
14 years ago
Beancounter, for the tomatoe hornworm, or manduca quinquemaculata, they will probably accept most anything in the Solanaceae family, e.g., datura, brugmansia, peppers, nicotiana, potatoes, petunias. I usually raise mine on datura but have switched them back and forth without consequence. Some folks just plant extra and common tomatoe varieties to move the hornworms to when they locate them on their treasured plants.

Susan
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bean_counter_z4
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks Susan and Susanne for your suggestions. I have plenty of extra tomatoes too so if I get any larva I can switch them. The reason I asked is that several bloggers have complained about tomato hornworms and won't tolerate them on their tomato plants. (Apparently some folks only plant one or two tomato plants.) Anyway, I wanted some other options to give people instead of killing the larva. You have given me other plants that may be alternatives and I hope save a few of these creatures.
BC
susanlynne48
14 years ago
These moths are fantastic pollinators, and are able to pollinate the deep throated flowers that many insect pollinators cannot reach. Good luck!!
lavender_lass
14 years ago
I didn't know that the larva were a problem. I ususally don't see hummingbird moths until they're flying around the white petunias in the evening. I've always enjoyed them and would gladly sacrifice a tomato to have them in the yard!
susanlynne48
14 years ago
Yeah for you, LavendarLass! I love them, too.

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