Hornworms

TexasTomat0 · July 31, 2017

I remember catching these guys when I was a kid, but have not seen them since.

It's amazing how fast they can eat through a plant. I walked out a couple days ago and noticed something had been munching, then today the entire top of the plant was gone and I noticed three of these monsters on there. It is my first encounter with them while growing my own tomatoes.

I have seen my dad grow tomatoes for years and never had any problems with hornworms, but somehow they made their way to my place.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

HoustonHeat · July 31, 2017

Yep. I am in Houston and I had a couple as well. I sacrificed a plant to watch it devour it and thought it would cocoon on a stem, but be aware they dig underground to cocoon and disappear. The young ones are black but smaller, the adults turn green as in your pic. I have not had further issues with them as you can simply remove the few you see by hand.

pmcgrady · July 31, 2017

I'm now up to 16 hornworms I've pulled off off 6 plants, 4 of the plants are pretty much devoured.

**carolyn137** · July 31, 2017

What should you know about hornworms as I learned myself years ago?

If you see any like this

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...k1.jCCmmAjUP7w

Then what you've got is this

https://www.google.com/search?q=horn...&bih=790&dpr=1

I very much like the idea of the worms being eviscerated,which is what happens.

Now if your hornworms aren't carrying around those wasp eggs,well, here's what I used to do. Pick off the leaf the hornworm is on and stomp it to death but beware that by smashing it it squirts out green innards,so stand back ASAP.

Carolyn

pmcgrady · August 1, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by carolyn137

What should you know about hornworms as I learned myself years ago?

If you see any like this

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...k1.jCCmmAjUP7w

Then what you've got is this

https://www.google.com/search?q=horn...&bih=790&dpr=1

I very much like the idea of the worms being eviscerated,which is what happens.

Now if your hornworms aren't carrying around those wasp eggs,well, here's what I used to do. Pick off the leaf the hornworm is on and stomp it to death but beware that by smashing it it squirts out green innards,so stand back ASAP.

Carolyn

LOL! The green innards stink too. Last year the hornworms had wasp eggs, but none this year... They have all got stomped to death.

Salsacharley · August 1, 2017

Those green innards were your plants just a few minutes earlier.

Father'sDaughter · August 3, 2017

I never had them until today -- my one and only runt of a Melrose Pepper was totally stripped of leaves this morning and there was a pile of hornworm droppings piled all around the stem. It had just moved on to a neighboring Aleppo plant and was on it's second leaf when I found it. No wasp eggs, so it went bye-bye.

Tonight I took another swing through the garden just to check on things, and under a tomato plant I found some fresh droppings. I climbed up on a step stool to get a loser look, and there were two more in the process of chowing down on my Sulia's Heart. Luckily they hadn't gotten too far into their feast before they went bye-bye as well.

So I guess I'm worm hunting at least twice a day for the rest of the season...

oakley · August 15, 2017

Daily inspections and pics do tell all.
I snapped a quick pic of new-to-me TennesseeSuited so I could compare on Tatiana's
Database...(it was looking like a heart but it has some fluting so not a heart)

...and what do I see on my screen?
First hornworm that I know of in my garden. I do seem to get just about a few of
everything.
I suppose one means I probably have more?

TexasTomat0 · August 15, 2017

The 2 I posted were the first I had ever seen, but I did find 1 more the following day. Since then I haven't seen any more. Hopefully they were just passing through.

Father'sDaughter · August 16, 2017

I also haven't seen any since those first three, but I still look every day.

brownrexx · August 16, 2017

I have not seen any on my tomatoes nor have I seen any of their damage but last evening I saw one on a pepper plant. However it was totally covered with wasp eggs so I just left it alone. It did not seem to be doing much.

I read on another site that tilling disrupts their life cycle by 90% and I do till once a year. A poster from one of the Dakotas quit tilling in her garden and after 2 years she had dozens of hornworms so she will be tilling in the Fall. Prior to that she never saw a hornworm.

agee12 · August 16, 2017

I've mellowed when it comes to hornworms. My understanding is that they come in two waves, spring and late summer/fall. I did not have a problem with them this past spring, and I have yet to spot one but I have seen signs, namely frass on my zinnias and some minor defoliation of tomatoes. The hornworms seem to prefer zinnia foliage to tomato foliage.

Hormworms don't bother me as much during their late summer/fall wave because by then the established tomato plants have plenty of foliage and again they seem to target the zinnias more. As far as I know they are not disease carriers.

I do have some younger plants and I am vigilant with those plants to make sure that a hormworm does not get to them. Some other pests, cutworms and slugs I suspect, have been more destructive a bigger threat and they seem to go after peppers and eggplants more than tomatoes.

Starting last fall I relocated my hornworms and even took my pruned tomato leaves to the relocation area. I got the sads when I noticed that a parasitic wasp had gotten to one of the hornworms.

Nematode · August 17, 2017

Cardinals been stalking the garden. Hornworms disappear as soon after they arrive.
Cardinals sit on the trellis and watch. Good friends they are.

oakley · August 23, 2017

Interesting about Cardianals. I have a family sitting daily on my tomato trellis deck
fence.
But spotted another hornworm. So well hidden. I've been watching a few nice tomatoes,
DwarfMetalica. Missed this one all morning.
Has the beneficial larvae of the braconid wasp. I moved it to a host plant.

Compuaide · August 27, 2017

I was sitting in a chair at the edge of the tomato trellis the other day and noticed 1 limb from the top of only 1 of my tomatoes had been stripped. I looked so hard for that green caterpillar but there was only that 1 limb of evidence trail to announce his arrival.

I came back out to look with a flashlight later that night but still no culprit and no new evidence.

That was 1 very fast bird because days later there is no caterpillar and no other damage to any plants.

Guess I have been lucky this year.

July 31, 2017	#1
TexasTomat0 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Central Texas - Zone 8A Posts: 196	Hornworms I remember catching these guys when I was a kid, but have not seen them since. It's amazing how fast they can eat through a plant. I walked out a couple days ago and noticed something had been munching, then today the entire top of the plant was gone and I noticed three of these monsters on there. It is my first encounter with them while growing my own tomatoes. I have seen my dad grow tomatoes for years and never had any problems with hornworms, but somehow they made their way to my place. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

July 31, 2017	#4
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	What should you know about hornworms as I learned myself years ago? If you see any like this https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...k1.jCCmmAjUP7w Then what you've got is this https://www.google.com/search?q=horn...&bih=790&dpr=1 I very much like the idea of the worms being eviscerated,which is what happens. Now if your hornworms aren't carrying around those wasp eggs,well, here's what I used to do. Pick off the leaf the hornworm is on and stomp it to death but beware that by smashing it it squirts out green innards,so stand back ASAP. Carolyn __________________ Carolyn

August 3, 2017	#7
Father'sDaughter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: MA/NH Border Posts: 4,919	Hornworms I never had them until today -- my one and only runt of a Melrose Pepper was totally stripped of leaves this morning and there was a pile of hornworm droppings piled all around the stem. It had just moved on to a neighboring Aleppo plant and was on it's second leaf when I found it. No wasp eggs, so it went bye-bye. Tonight I took another swing through the garden just to check on things, and under a tomato plant I found some fresh droppings. I climbed up on a step stool to get a loser look, and there were two more in the process of chowing down on my Sulia's Heart. Luckily they hadn't gotten too far into their feast before they went bye-bye as well. So I guess I'm worm hunting at least twice a day for the rest of the season...

July 31, 2017	#2
HoustonHeat Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Houston Zone 9A Posts: 132	Yep. I am in Houston and I had a couple as well. I sacrificed a plant to watch it devour it and thought it would cocoon on a stem, but be aware they dig underground to cocoon and disappear. The young ones are black but smaller, the adults turn green as in your pic. I have not had further issues with them as you can simply remove the few you see by hand.

July 31, 2017	#3
pmcgrady Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Central Illinois Posts: 1,836	I'm now up to 16 hornworms I've pulled off off 6 plants, 4 of the plants are pretty much devoured.

August 1, 2017	#6
Salsacharley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: New Mexico Posts: 2,052	Those green innards were your plants just a few minutes earlier.

August 15, 2017	#9
TexasTomat0 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Central Texas - Zone 8A Posts: 196	The 2 I posted were the first I had ever seen, but I did find 1 more the following day. Since then I haven't seen any more. Hopefully they were just passing through.

August 16, 2017	#10
Father'sDaughter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: MA/NH Border Posts: 4,919	I also haven't seen any since those first three, but I still look every day.

August 16, 2017	#11
brownrexx Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Southeastern PA Posts: 1,420	I have not seen any on my tomatoes nor have I seen any of their damage but last evening I saw one on a pepper plant. However it was totally covered with wasp eggs so I just left it alone. It did not seem to be doing much. I read on another site that tilling disrupts their life cycle by 90% and I do till once a year. A poster from one of the Dakotas quit tilling in her garden and after 2 years she had dozens of hornworms so she will be tilling in the Fall. Prior to that she never saw a hornworm.

August 16, 2017	#12
agee12 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Georgia Posts: 196	I've mellowed when it comes to hornworms. My understanding is that they come in two waves, spring and late summer/fall. I did not have a problem with them this past spring, and I have yet to spot one but I have seen signs, namely frass on my zinnias and some minor defoliation of tomatoes. The hornworms seem to prefer zinnia foliage to tomato foliage. Hormworms don't bother me as much during their late summer/fall wave because by then the established tomato plants have plenty of foliage and again they seem to target the zinnias more. As far as I know they are not disease carriers. I do have some younger plants and I am vigilant with those plants to make sure that a hormworm does not get to them. Some other pests, cutworms and slugs I suspect, have been more destructive a bigger threat and they seem to go after peppers and eggplants more than tomatoes. Starting last fall I relocated my hornworms and even took my pruned tomato leaves to the relocation area. I got the sads when I noticed that a parasitic wasp had gotten to one of the hornworms.

August 17, 2017	#13
Nematode Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2012 Location: massachusetts Posts: 1,710	Cardinals been stalking the garden. Hornworms disappear as soon after they arrive. Cardinals sit on the trellis and watch. Good friends they are.

August 27, 2017	#15
Compuaide Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: New York 6b Posts: 50	I was sitting in a chair at the edge of the tomato trellis the other day and noticed 1 limb from the top of only 1 of my tomatoes had been stripped. I looked so hard for that green caterpillar but there was only that 1 limb of evidence trail to announce his arrival. I came back out to look with a flashlight later that night but still no culprit and no new evidence. That was 1 very fast bird because days later there is no caterpillar and no other damage to any plants. Guess I have been lucky this year.