Stop the Tomato Hornworm From Damaging Your Tomatoes: Caterpillars of the tomato hornworm are a nuisance in the vegetable garden, despite the fact that they transform into lovely moths.For anyone, the mere sight of a tomato hornworm that has reached its full maturity is enough to cause them to shudder in terror.
Stop the Tomato Hornworm From Damaging Your Tomatoes
These caterpillars can grow to be at least four inches in length and have a fang-like tail that protrudes from behind them. They are as thick as your thumb. And to add insult to injury, they accomplish this by consuming the leaves of your most prized vegetable plants! In order to control hornworms in a manner that is not harmful to both humans and the environment, here is how to do it.
Tomato Hornworm vs. Tobacco Hornworm
Actually, there are two species of hornworms that are closely related to one another and cause a lot of trouble in the vegetable garden. As may be seen in the illustration displayed below, the tobacco hornworm, also known as Manduca sexta, has a red tail spike and black margins on its white stripes.
These black borders are absent in the tomato hornworm, also known as Manduca quinquemaculata, and the tail spike is frequently blue in color. In most cases, the absence of black stripes is the most straightforward method for identifying them.
As their names suggest, both caterpillars consume host plants such as tomato and tobacco. In addition, they consume other members of the nightshade (Solanaceae) family, such as peppers, eggplant, and potatoes. It is possible that you will find any one of these species in your garden, depending on the region in which you live.
It shouldn’t be too difficult to identify these caterpillars. In the event that you observe damage to the leaves or fruit of your tomato, eggplant, or pepper plants, you should search for caterpillars. Caterpillars can range in size but have a similar appearance in comparison to other insects.
You may even be able to identify them by their droppings, which are referred to as frass. These droppings can become rather enormous, reaching the size of chocolate chips and even larger!
Hornworm Life Cycle
Hornworms begin their life cycle as individual eggs that are yellow-green in color and are laid on the leaves of the plants that they feed on. After hatching, they transform into extremely small caterpillars, but as they consume the plant, they develop very quickly.
Full-grown hornworms have the ability to defoliate even enormous plants in what appears to be an instant. When the hornworms have been on the host plant for a few weeks, they will eventually burrow down into the soil and pupate there. It is brown in color, and the pupa have a loop at one end.
Their developing adult mouth pieces, known as proboscis, are held in place by that loop. In the event that it is late in the year, hornworms may remain dormant in the soil throughout the entire winter, emerging either in the late spring or early summer.
Tomato Hornworm Moth
As you would have guessed based on the size of the caterpillar, hornworms eventually transform into extremely huge moths that are referred to as sphinx moths or hawkmoths. They are so huge that they are frequently mistaken for hummingbirds when they are feeding on flowers because of their size.
While the tobacco hornworm transforms into a Carolina sphinx moth, the tomato hornworm transforms into a five-spotted hawkmoth to achieve its transformation. These moths are most active in the early and evening hours of the day. In just a week or two, they will mate, lay eggs, and then pass away.
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Controlling Tobacco and Tomato Hornworms
Even though they have spiky tails, hornworms do not pose a threat to human beings. The most straightforward and risk-free method of controlling them is to remove them by hand and then place them in a bucket filled with soapy water. (Because the soap plugs their spiracles, they are unable to breathe, which ultimately results in their death in a decent amount of time.)
However, if you do not like the idea of killing them, you might want to think about having a tomato plant or two that are “sacrificial” in a different location so that you can move them there instead.
As an additional method of controlling tomato hornworms, you can also encourage the predators of these pests to flourish in your garden. The eggs and the smaller caterpillars are consumed by a variety of insects, including ladybugs, wasps, and lacewings.
Use of chemical or bacterial insecticides, such as Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) or permethrin, is an option that should only be used as a last resource. Be aware that these can also be harmful to people, and that they have the potential to kill any and all insects without discrimination, including pollinators and insects that are valuable to humanity.
In the event that you do decide to utilize these methods, make sure to thoroughly follow the instructions and only use them when absolutely necessary. Although they are capable of causing damage, tobacco and tomato hornworms eventually mature into large, gorgeous moths.
Unless they are a significant nuisance in your garden, you might want to think about allowing them to survive and develop into the beautiful night-fliers that they are intended to be.