Tomato Hornworm

I called my Mom this weekend, and she described these finger-thick "hornworms" which are chewing the heck out of her tomato plants.  Light green, single spike on the hind end, terribly cute, and ravenous appetite.  Oh dear, my half-inch long ones on the Mr. Stripey tomato are suddenly not so cute.  They're only the thickness of a pencil lead, and since they're so tiny and weren't doing very much damage I was just going to leave them be.  I rushed to the garden to check... and yes, they've doubled size in a day, and both of them had taken out an entire leaf already.

 Nom nom nom... 

When I first noticed one, it was less than half that size, and the spike was towering straight up, almost half the length of its body.  And yep, you may have guessed it from the photo... I have removed both of the hornworms from the tomato plants, and they are now living happily in a little storage tub with plenty of tomato greens.  I'm such a sucker for creepy crawly things, and can't stomach squishing them (haha, that's what husbands are for, right?  And he's not home yet).  So now they're pets for the time being.  At least the Mr. Stripey tomato has enough leaves to spare so far... jeez, these things are voracious.  Hopefully I can support one long enough to see it turn into a Sphinx moth (otherwise known as Hawk or Hummingbird Moth)... should only take 3-4 weeks.  I will have to keep an eye on my plants, though... where there's 2, there's probably more!

Here's a nifty website that describes them:  http://www.vegedge.umn.edu/vegpest/hornworm.htm

My Dad sent me a few photos he took of one of their hornworms... it is beautiful!

 How doth the little crocodile improve his shining tail...

... and pour the waters of the Nile, on every golden scale.

It also really, really reminds me of the caterpillar in Alice In Wonderland.  Something about the blues and greens in the photo is magical!  And despite what he's done to the yellow pear tomato, those eye spots are amazing.  Alas, due to his transgressions he has moved on to the, uh, great tomato field in the sky.  Here's hoping for a speedy recovery of my parents' tomatoes!


What's the most destructive pest you've had in your garden?