The horn of the tobacco hornworm is red, while the horn of the tomato hornworm is dark blue or black. Larvae are green with a distinct 'horn' on the top of the tail end. The eggs hatch in approximately one week and larvae begin feeding on foliage.The larvae of both species feed for 3-4 weeks, molt five times, and may reach 4 inches in length and 1/2 inch in width when fully ground. The spherical greenish-yellow eggs of both species are deposited singly on the undersides of host plant leaves. There are two species of hornworm that feed on tomatos - tobacco hornworm ( Manduca sexta) and tomato hornworm ( Manduca quinquemaculata).

Larvae consume large amounts of foliage on peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, and related solanaceous weeds. These large caterpillars typically appear in small numbers and cause their impressive feeding damage to just a few leaves or plants. Subscribe to the weekly Good Growing email: go./goodgrowingsubscribeĪny products or companies mentioned during the podcast are in no way a promotion or endorsement of these products or companies.Late July and early August are usually the time when we see tomato hornworms. These are also pollinators, so if you prefer to give them a home Ken also has got you covered!Ĭheck out the Good Growing Blog: go./goodgrowing And in this week's Gardenbite, Ken Johnson describes the hornworm, a super neat way to find them, and how to control them. Ack! What happened to the tomato plant!? Have you ever walked out to the garden to find out a hungry hungry caterpillar has stripped the leaves off your tomato plant? These are known as tomato hornworms.

Download tomato hornworm caterpillar