Hawk moth/ Tomato horn worm?

Question

I have found some (what I am pretty sure are) tomato horn worms on my tomato plants. Are these the caterpillar for the Hawk Moth (or also called Hummingbird Moth)? The hawk moths are such interesting critters. My children love to watch them, but I have heard the tomato horn worm can be destructive to tomato plants.

I have had tomato plants for year and never noticed these critters on my plants before. My tomatoes are almost done, so I am not too concerned ...this year. Should I expect a problem with infestation next year? Is it late for them (the caterpillar) to be appearing this year?

Any advice on these critters is appreciated.

Thank you D~

animaux · Accepted Answer

Okay, chances are you won't have an infestation, but you will have them no matter what you do. The way I handle it is to have other plants in the nightshade family and I move them to those to chomp on. I've gone so far as to have a tomato plant and I feed it with a lot of nitrogen to produce a lot of leaves and I move them to that plant.

They are a very important insect and they pollinate nightshade plants and night is the only time the parts to be pollinated are available. So, no kill is the best way.

V

Annaid · Answer

Any idea what the cocoon looks like?D~

animaux · Answer

It's a case which is about two inches long, half inch in diameter or less with a hook on top for the mouth parts.

I tried to look up what a chrysalis looks like, but the Internet is trashed tonight.

Do a search tomorrow on hawk moth or hummingbird moth chrysalis photos.

They are brown, shiney, and large. They are found in the ground, usually having that unmistakable hook on top.

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Lar · Answer

:)  Any idea what the cocoon looks like?:)  :)  It will be brown. They over winter in the pupa stage in soft soil or leaf litter.

Hawk moth/ Tomato horn worm?

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