First Hornworm of 2014

Salsacharley · July 5, 2014

I just had the dubious pleasure of eliminating the first hornworm of my 2014 season. The beast was in the upper reaches of a Submarine Blush plant. He did have good taste being there, but a wasp gave his position away to me. I apologized to the wasp for intervening, but I didn't want to lose another leaf to the dirty "you know what".

I am now bracing for the onslaught of more hornworms...my worst nemesis.

Charley

Labradors2 · July 5, 2014

Charley,

May I suggest that you don't just brace yourself, but you go out right now and look for more! Where's there's one hornworm, there are usually more......

Good luck!
Linda

ginger2778 · July 5, 2014

She's right Charley. Maybe you want to spray with BT( thurcide is one brand)? Its very organic, gives them an infection and they die. No harm to humans. Great stuff!

Worth1 · July 5, 2014

The mama laid more than one egg thats for sure.

Worth

Cole_Robbie · July 5, 2014

They've been eating my high tunnel up.

KarenO · July 5, 2014

Short season here = 0 points
No hornworms here = 1 point

I call it even.
K

gssgarden · July 5, 2014

Death by hanging!!! lol

Greg

RobinB · July 6, 2014

We saw several of the hummingbird moths this year in the Spring (we managed to kill one and identified it as the moth that later is the dreaded tomato hornworm.) They are HUGE! I'm checking for hornworms daily as best I can. We usually don't get very many, some years none at all, but I've never seen any of the moths before, so it may be worse than usual, who knows?

Labradors2 · July 6, 2014

Oh no Robin,

Hummingbird moths are not the same as hornworm moths. HB moths have clear wings and look like hummers. Their lavae do NOT eat tomatoes. Please don't kill them.

Linda

Salsacharley · July 6, 2014

I've caught 4 so far, of which 3 were on the same plant. I spend most of my free time now hunting.

Is it possible to mix Thuricide with Daconil and do one spraying instead of having to do 2 separate sprayings? It makes a difference with 260 plants.

Thanks,

Charley

Salsacharley · July 7, 2014

With hope that my question was missed previously, I am re-posting it with further hope someone knows the answer.

Thanks,

Charley

Quote:

Originally Posted by Salsacharley

I've caught 4 so far, of which 3 were on the same plant. I spend most of my free time now hunting.

Is it possible to mix Thuricide with Daconil and do one spraying instead of having to do 2 separate sprayings? It makes a difference with 260 plants.

Thanks,

Charley

RobinB · July 6, 2014

Linda,

The website I saw, which made me call what we saw a hummingbird moth, uses "hummingbird," "sphinx," and "hawk" as names for the same moth. And, apparently the ones with clear wings are just one in this very large family. Not to worry, the one we identified was absolutely, 100% a tomato hornworm "adult."

http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/f...ngbird-what-it
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05517.html

Labradors2 · July 6, 2014

Hi Robin,

Most interesting that they are in the same family.

The (tomato) Hornworm moth flies at night, so would be less likely to be spotted.

The Hummingbird moth is so pretty and can be seen during the daytime. It is often mistaken for a humming bird! The lavae feed on Viburnum leaves.

Here's a link about the hummingbird moth with pictures of the caterpillar further down in the web site. It too is green, and has the "horn" but is different from the one that chomps our tommies!

http://www.silkmoths.bizland.com/hthysbe.htm

Linda

pondgardener · July 6, 2014

Robin,

Here in Southern Colorado, I was amazed one night when I went outside at dusk and noticed what turned out to be dozens of White-lined Sphinx moths feeding on the Penstemon that was blooming at the time. My first reaction was concern at the probable infestation of hornworms on the tomatoes. But reading the CSU link, as well as others, it seemed that they fed on grape vines and other plants, but not tomatoes.

But a few minutes ago, as I was tending to the tomato plants, I came across a small hornworm just starting to chomp on a plant that was adjacent to where the flowers had grown. As I am the neighborhood watering hole for birds because of a couple of small ponds that are in the yard, this is the first hornworm I have seen in the 10 years that I have lived here. I hope that it is an isolated event.

Good luck with your garden.

George

Riceloft · July 7, 2014

I just killed a Sphinx Moth out in the yard that was chilling on the fence near my plants. I've only had hornworms here once (2 seasons ago) and thankfully each one I found was laden with wasp eggs. I still removed them promptly

.

July 5, 2014	#1
Salsacharley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: New Mexico Posts: 2,052	First Hornworm of 2014 I just had the dubious pleasure of eliminating the first hornworm of my 2014 season. The beast was in the upper reaches of a Submarine Blush plant. He did have good taste being there, but a wasp gave his position away to me. I apologized to the wasp for intervening, but I didn't want to lose another leaf to the dirty "you know what". I am now bracing for the onslaught of more hornworms...my worst nemesis. Charley

July 6, 2014	#14
pondgardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Colorado Posts: 361	Robin, Here in Southern Colorado, I was amazed one night when I went outside at dusk and noticed what turned out to be dozens of White-lined Sphinx moths feeding on the Penstemon that was blooming at the time. My first reaction was concern at the probable infestation of hornworms on the tomatoes. But reading the CSU link, as well as others, it seemed that they fed on grape vines and other plants, but not tomatoes. But a few minutes ago, as I was tending to the tomato plants, I came across a small hornworm just starting to chomp on a plant that was adjacent to where the flowers had grown. As I am the neighborhood watering hole for birds because of a couple of small ponds that are in the yard, this is the first hornworm I have seen in the 10 years that I have lived here. I hope that it is an isolated event. Good luck with your garden. George __________________ “Live as if you'll die tomorrow, but farm as if you'll live forever.” Old Proverb

July 5, 2014	#2
Labradors2 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Ontario Posts: 3,890	Charley, May I suggest that you don't just brace yourself, but you go out right now and look for more! Where's there's one hornworm, there are usually more...... Good luck! Linda

July 5, 2014	#3
ginger2778 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10 Posts: 9,283	She's right Charley. Maybe you want to spray with BT( thurcide is one brand)? Its very organic, gives them an infection and they die. No harm to humans. Great stuff!

July 5, 2014	#4
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	The mama laid more than one egg thats for sure. Worth

July 5, 2014	#5
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	They've been eating my high tunnel up.

July 5, 2014	#6
KarenO Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Vancouver Island Posts: 5,928	Short season here = 0 points No hornworms here = 1 point I call it even. K

July 5, 2014	#7
gssgarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: N.C. Posts: 1,824	Death by hanging!!! lol Greg

July 6, 2014	#8
RobinB Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Near Reno, NV Posts: 1,621	We saw several of the hummingbird moths this year in the Spring (we managed to kill one and identified it as the moth that later is the dreaded tomato hornworm.) They are HUGE! I'm checking for hornworms daily as best I can. We usually don't get very many, some years none at all, but I've never seen any of the moths before, so it may be worse than usual, who knows?

July 7, 2014	#15
Riceloft Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Parma, Ohio (6a) Posts: 299	I just killed a Sphinx Moth out in the yard that was chilling on the fence near my plants. I've only had hornworms here once (2 seasons ago) and thankfully each one I found was laden with wasp eggs. I still removed them promptly .