big fat tomato eatin' bug

10 years ago

I saw this guy munching on a green tomato (I put a rose petal there for scale). I figure if there is one, there are more.

Tonight - Spinosad.

Is this the correct approach? Anything to look out for?

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Comments (9)

CaraRose
10 years ago
They eat just about anything in the nightshade family, so if you have peppers, eggplant, potatoes, ect., you might want to spray them too.
robeb
10 years ago
Yeah, look out for the poop you see at the end of him & on the right.

Treatment depends on the number of plants you are growing. If you only have a few plants, less than 10 or so, I'd take them out one by one. Pick them off and dispose of them quickly, they are voracious.

More plants, you may have to go chemical on them.
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Tobacco is probably the best and richest food source for the Manduca sphinxes. The moths also actively nectar from and pollinate the fragrant flowers. Although the leaf loss is unacceptable to tobacco farmers, the plants are not actually killed by heavy feeding. The deep-throated flowers are visited by bees, but the long-tongued sphinx moths are the primary pollinator of flowering as well as commercial tobacco [Nicotiana] which makes it mutualistic symbiosis, just as the sphinx and Datura depend on each other.
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"Bugs" is a big category! Without at least some sort of description of them it's impossible. There are a 1000 possibilities of soil dwelling insects and easily 500 "little black bugs". But most of them while attracted to moisture, do no harm. Unless it is a major nest/infestation and if they aren't damaging the plants I wouldn't worry about them. Dave
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Something chomped my tomatoes before I got a chance to :(
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Agree with jean001a, this is bird damage. I had the same thing happen to half my tomatoes one year until I caught a mockingbird in the act. That year we were having a very dry summer, and it seems the birds were looking for water. I put bird netting over the tomatoes and a shallow pan of water out for the birds, and was able to harvest the rest of the tomatoes without any more damage.
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I would suggest it's a bit early to dismiss the supercropping as possible cause of the BER. I agree it's not likely, but one plant without symptoms doesn't necessarily prove the supercropping wasn't at fault. It's possible the control plant had some variable in its favor that made the difference. Of course it's more likely there was some other minor variable that pushed things against the plants with BER. For the aphids I'd say either go biological or get out the big guns. Hardcore pesticides aren't great, but sometimes it's better than a total loss. Oh, and leaving the fruit on can make the BER persist. Each of those fruits represents a major future investment of plant resources. If there isn't enough to go around (a calcium shortage causing BER) the more fruit they're trying to grow the more thinly it's spread and the worse the problem is likely to get. I'd advise removing anything with even a hint of BER. Force the plant to redirect it's resources to areas that aren't already lost causes. It may be time to look for a superior source for nutrition. I've been using Advanced Nutrients for awhile now without trouble. It might work better for you as well.
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jadie88
10 years ago
I picked off four from my peppers, then decided to keep a fifth in my kids' butterfly enclosure as a little science lesson. It was doing fine for three days, then on day four I noticed the white egg-shaped sacs that signify it had been parasitized! I had to explain the ugly truth about dear "Muncher" to the kids, then we put him out in the garden again so the parasitic wasps could hatch and keep doing their creepy-yet-helpful thing.
Arrancopelito
10 years ago
What are they called? I have them and remove them by hand.
2ajsmama
10 years ago
Tomato hornworm. Funny, that's the only pest I haven't seen so far this year (knock on wood).
labradors_gw
10 years ago
Tomato Hornworms. They are the lavae of a Hawk Moth which is quite large.

It breaks my heart to have to remove them from my tomato plants as they are impressive insects, and I've always had a soft spot for butterflies and moths, but my tomatoes must come first!

Linda
jean001a
10 years ago
Well, actually it's a tobacco hornworm.
And yes, they eat just as much as do tomato hornworms.
labradors_gw
10 years ago
Apparently it IS a tomato hornworm. Not a very scientific name! Here's an explanation with pictures:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manduca_sexta

Linda
serge94501
Original Author
10 years ago
This morning I found some chewed-down stalks...and a dead bug, suspended on the plant.

Spinosad: 1

Big fat tomato eatin' bug: 0

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big fat tomato eatin' bug

Comments (9)

CaraRose

robeb

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serge94501
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big fat tomato eatin' bug

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