Raising Tomato Hornworms... how?
TrishT
12 years ago
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TrishT
12 years agoshannon74
12 years agoRelated Discussions
Raising Tomato Hornworm
Comments (14)I have a tobacco hornworms, and they are perfectly healthy, except since yesterday. they are now a bit brownish, and are not eating. They aren't moving much, and I don't know if they are shedding, or they're sick. There are two. I got them six days ago, and on the 1st-3rd day, fed them tomato leaves. 4th through 5th i gave them both tomato and potato leaves. At the end of the 5th day, i gave them romaine lettuce leaves, and woke up today, to find they were slightly brown around the head area, won't eat, and minimal movement. They twist around weirdly, and wave their butt around a bit, but that's it. All the information on taking care of tomato/tobacco hornworms said it was ok to feed them romaine lettuce. I washed the lettuce thoroughly before feeding them. Is it the stuff they may have put on the lettuce? Maybe I can't get it off and they got a slight dose of it? I'm worried, and I've been raising tobacco hornworms for years. this is the first time I have fed them lettuce. HELP JEFFREY AND BOB PLEASE! Frankie is digging around to start his coccoon, and he didn't eat any lettuce yet. PLEASE HELP MY POOR CATERPILLARS!!!!!...See MoreArrrrrrrrrrrrgh!!!!!!!!My very first and second tomato hornworms!
Comments (22)After the scary-but-harmless caterpillar photos, I'm going to link to a cute one: the puss moth caterpillar. I saw one a couple of years ago on a daylily leaf just a few feet from my house. There's a lilac nearby; they like to feed on shrubs. Luckily I had my pockets and both hands full of seed pods from various daylilies (and was trying not to forget which seeds were from which daylilies), or I might have tried to pet it. And there was a small voice inside my head that told me that was a bad idea. Scroll down to see it in all its fuzzy white glory: http://www.hort.net/lists/spaceagerobin/aug04/msg00047.html The white coloring is less common; they also come in grey, taupe, brown, yellow, and pale orange. This type always makes me think of 1950s rock singers (male) with curly pompadour hairdos: http://insects.about.com/od/butterfliesmoths/ig/Stinging-Caterpillars/Puss-Caterpillar.htm Well, it could be worse: there are copperheads around here; at least I haven't found any of them in my backyard! Photos of other dangerous caterpillars (unfortunately not always describing where they are found): http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/nature/news-ten-creepy-and-colorful-caterpillar-hazardous-human-health...See MoreJust when I said I have never gotten a tomato hornworm....
Comments (15)Triple, ever since the first day I ever planted anything (a rose...and about 200 years ago), I've been obsessive about my plants. So if something ate anything, I would know. I recall an ongoing battle between me and one squirrel that to this day, I did not find a way to kill, LOL. (Another "bug" if you ask me.) Out of hundreds of tomatoes, we actually ate about 20 total thanks to that demon. Speaking of demons, I have one resident squirrel here. He is eyeing my bushes and I am eyeing him. I'm older since that last battle and have less patience--let's just leave it at that for now. LOL But on GW/Houzz, I've seen so many people post about hornworms and I shudder each time I see one, praising sweet baby Jesus that I never, ever had one. Until this year. It just obliterated big stems of all the leaves and growth. I feel like I am down to about half the potential tomatoes I had--and this poor thing is a determinate plant so it's not like I can wait for the next round. Very strange, too, because I have 7 total tomato plants here and only this one, which was technically the most robust one, is the one that got hornworms. It is, of course, the only one where I have one plant of this variety, too. Ain't life grand? :) (Meanwhile, it was two tomato hornworms that came back to triple's backyard six times each...Haha.)...See MoreTomato hornworm
Comments (5)I have seen more than one of the devil spawn on my stucco before but it is generally after I have laid down with the intent of coming back later to feed to the chickens and forgetting to do that. They travel remarkably well which is why I no longer just take them off the plant, they must die. Incidentally, I have since learned that it has a relative that affects poplar trees but the stripes on them are pinkish....See Moretomatoworm59
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