Ack! Hornworm ate my tomato

16 years ago

Really - it took a big bite out of my *first* Kellogg's Breakfast. Dang, and I had been waiting for that one to set fruit, as everything else has good sized tomatoes on them already ('cept my Brandywine). I, ahem, relocated the little bugger and strip searched the rest of the tomato plants but found no sign of any brothers or sisters, so hopefully it is not a sign of things to come! But I sure am bummed about that one.

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Comments (12)

quercus_macrocarpa
16 years ago
I wouldn't have relocated him/her. I would've terminated him/her with extreme prejudice.
timmy1
16 years ago
what state?

I like to keep track of the moth flight.
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Does it look like someone just took clippers and took the stems off clean? Look for hornworms. I have the same thing. Even though they are big (some the size of my index finger!) they can be hard to see b/c they are blend into plant so well...EXACTLY the same color as tom vines. We pull them off and feed them to chickens.
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Of course, moths flit in and deposit a single egg on the upper and lower surfaces of the plant. Look for the little pearl-like eggs and crush them as you find them. Here's the thing: tiny caterpillars hatch from those little round eggs, right? It takes a fair amount of time for them to grow up and become the 'monsters' we find on the plants. All the time eating and eating. If we would look for the eggs and look for signs of feeding EARLY so that we can hunt down the babies, we'd never have to deal with the biggies. Tobacco (yours is most likely the Tobacco hornworm) and tomato hornworms should be scouted for on a regular basis and removed before extensive damage is done. Removal is your most efficient method of control, believe me. If you have a LOT of peppers and tomatoes, you may want to resort to the tried and true Bt-K, Bacillus thuringiensis Kurstaki, a biological control that has been on the market for the control of caterpillars (only caterpillars) for generations. You can find it in a sprayable liquid form, or a dust in any garden supply outlet. The important thing to know about using Bt to control caterpillars is that it must be applied when the insects are very young. So, once again, we have to rely on our ability to pay attention and observe. Please remember that Bt-K is effective only against caterpillars and nothing else. It can be used safely on any food crop up to the day of harvest. Never use it if you have a butterfly garden nearby. These caterpillars are prey to a wide variety of predatory animals, including many kinds of beneficial insects, lizards and anoles, birds, frogs, and others. They are also a favorite host to tiny parastic wasps. Thus, the use of any other kind of pesticide, other than the Bt, is folly. Sort of like shooting yourself in the foot to get rid of a hangnail.
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How to upload photos to this forum from Photobucket: Uploading from Photobucket [Be sure you get the html code for the photo. Many people try to use "[IMG]" on either side of the photo url; that will not work.] On the Tomato Pest forum, you can post images directly from your computer without going through an image-hosting site like Photobucket. (I've no idea if you can post from a smartphone.) Click on the small red and black Image Uploading rectangle for instructions; it's on the left about halfway down the screen. Here are the general site instructions on posting pictures: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/help.html#images Keep in mind that whatever you see when you go to "Preview Message" is what will appear in your post. So if you want the photo to appear in the post, it must appear in "Preview Message." If it doesn't appear, you've done something wrong and must try again. If you're putting a link in your post, be sure to click on it in "Preview Message" to make sure it works. If it doesn't work there, it won't work in your post either.
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**I see I need to shrewishly waggle my reminder finger at my fellow gardeners that there are starvling lizards, birds and toads in their gardens who would gratefully welcome the disdained tomato hornworm.** I somewhat agree, but in no way recommend leaving them to feast....... unless they have been used as a host from a parasitic wasp. I will snap off the branch they are on and relocate them to take their chances in nature elsewhere. The tobacco hw will display white chevrons ...or .."V's" along it's side. The tomato worm has slanted vertical lines. The moth we see around here lately is spectacular, the size of a hummingbird, displaying similar flight patterns. and depending on the variety of moth.............. translucent wings outlined in deep ruby red, with bodys banded in black and orange that truly resemble a lobster in flight. (minus the claws:) Others are camoflaged so you would be hard pressed to see them right off, on the side of a tree, or in the foilage. As so often in nature all is not as it seems........ Look for them at the hummer feeder, and around the tomato garden. It's well worth it, if you like that kind of thing.......... Tom
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andreajoy
16 years ago
timmy..

i caught a hawk moth the other night...i'm in sacramento, california...
figfarmer
16 years ago
What do hornworms turn into ??
delta_charlie
16 years ago
Hi Figfarmer and the group,

"What do hornworms turn into ??"
---cut from link below---
Adults are large, fast-flying moths, commonly called hawk moths or hummingbird moths. They are mottled gray or brownish, with two rows of 5 orange spots on the stout body. The wingspan is 4 to 5 inches.

They are cool looking cats and the moth must be a sight to see!

Later, DC

Here is a link that might be useful: Quick read on the hornworm and the moth
jbann23
16 years ago
timmy1 - quite the spread you've got there. I'm probably growing some of yours here in South Kingstown. No hornworms or moths yet, but, in time. How're the aphids treating ya? Getting lots of the flying type here.
utdeedee
16 years ago
No horn worms or moths but I've had a slight problem with red looking aphids on my tomatoe plants, beaf steak. When I first found them I sprayed, which I hate to do. Then last night found a few more, not really an infestation, so I just went throught the fourteen plants and checked all leaves and wipped off what I found. I'm not sure what they are, I though spider mites, but the pics. I've found don't look like them. Oh well, I'll just keep wipping them off unless they get real bad, then I'll break out the spray killer.....
andreajoy
16 years ago
there are many different varieties of hawk moths...

all are beautiful!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: whatsthatbug.com
timmy1
16 years ago
jbann, aphids are not bad here.

did notice a few CPB and striped cucumber.

how are you're plants doing?
jbann23
16 years ago
timmy1, the plants are doing quite well. Nice thick stems, plenty of leaves and rapid, steady growth. Got Beefmasters this year, a favorite. Aphids are gone for now, a little Neem oil and soap did them in. No other pests yet.
bostonwolf
16 years ago
Best cure I ever used for aphids was ladybugs. They got every one of them and they never reappeared
jbann23
16 years ago
bostonwolf - interesting. Did you buy them? Around here there's been times when ladybugs were almost a pest. Tons of them everywhere. Right now there's none. It's been too cold for much bug action. Darned windy too. Aphids like the nice cool spring weather and multiply really fast. Probably in a week or two the weather will finally warm up and the ladybugs will become active. 'Till then it's neem oil for the aphids.

Ack! Hornworm ate my tomato

Comments (12)

quercus_macrocarpa

timmy1

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