![]() Black or green droppings (fecal pellets) on leaves are clue that hornworms are present. Mature larvae can grow up to four inches long but their striping pattern makes them hard to spot despite their size. The body is green with a blackish horn protruding from the end, and a series of white V-shaped markings along the sides of the body. Tomato hornworms are likely to be the largest caterpillars you will see in the vegetable garden. I left things alone, and in a few days I’ll have a couple dozen more allies patrolling my garden for pest caterpillars.Īnd I don’t mind letting others do the dirty work for me.Tomato hornworms are well camouflaged among the leaves of their host plants. ![]() We may have to put up with a little loss for a short time, but then Nature turns the tables on the pests. This poor Tomato Hornworm is now a barely living but very viable nursery for some highly beneficial parasitic wasps. The parasitized Hornworm in my garden is the exact reason we do not spray insecticides on our farm. My disappointment quickly shifted into excitement. I went from almost grabbing the Hornworm from the plant and feeding it to the chickens, to gladly leaving the Hornworm right where I found it on the tomato plant. I was disappointed to see the Tomato Hornworm on our tomatoes, but then I saw the cocoons adorning the caterpillar like some macabre decoration. The larvae pupate into adult wasps, and the cycle repeats itself. Eventually the wasp larvae break through the caterpillar’s skin and spin a cocoon. The wasp larvae save the vital organs for last, so the infected caterpillar will stay alive for as long as possible. Initially, the caterpillar will act as if nothing is wrong, but as the parasitic larvae grow, and continue to eat, the caterpillar becomes progressively less active. The eggs hatch and the wasp larvae slowly eat the caterpillar from the inside. The adult wasp uses its ovipositor to pierce the skin of a caterpillar and deposits eggs inside the caterpillar’s body. ![]() ![]() It has a sharp ovipositor… a long, tube-like, egg-laying appendage. Just think of the movie Aliens as I explain the life cycle of the Braconid Wasps, a Tomato Hornworm parasite.īraconid Wasps are a family of parasitic wasps, and Cotesia congregata is one species in this family that prefers Tomato Hornworms. This Tomato Hornworm has been parasitized! Take a closer look at the back of the caterpillar. ![]()
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