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Tomato and tobacco hornworms
Insect or pest Manduca quinquemaculata, M. sexta · also called tomato hornworm, tobacco hornworm
Holes or chewed leavesDamaged fruit, pods, or earsBugs I can see
How to spot it
Big green caterpillars up to 4 inches long with white stripes along the sides and a horn on the tail. They blend in well; look for bare stems and dark green droppings on the leaves below.
What it does
They eat whole leaves and bite into green fruit. A few can strip a tomato plant in days.
What to do now
- Pick them off (they don't sting) and drop them in soapy water.
- Leave any that carry white rice-like cocoons: those are tiny wasps that will kill it and hatch more wasps.
- Spray Bt on young caterpillars.
- Search at dusk, or at night with a UV flashlight: hornworms glow.
Keep it away next time
- Turn the soil in fall and spring to break up the pupae.
- Grow tomatoes and their relatives in a new spot each year.
- Plant dill and small flowers nearby for the wasps that attack hornworms.
Helpful supplies
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Plants it affects
Not sure? Your county extension office can identify it from a photo or sample, often for free.