Tomato worms
The tomato worm is actually a caterpillar, but you probably knew that. And since tomatoes and potatoes and tobacco, for that matter, are all in the nightshade family, the animals that prey on one plant usually find comfort munching on the leaves of the other!
That is why you will find "similar to" in the definitions surrounding tomato worms, whether it be tobacco hornworm or tomato hornworm. The big fat green tomato hornworm with white stripes and a red 'horn' or tail that destructively chews up the leaves and tendrils of your backyard tomato plants is quite comfortable munching on the leaves of tobacco plants.
Their scientific name is Manduca quinquemaculata, and they differ from their cousins, Manduca sexta, the tobacco hornworm, mostly in where they live. The tobacco hornworm is more common in the southern states, while the tomato hornworm is a preferential northerner! Either way, the tomato worm is the larva of the hawkmoth. The cycle of this species is standard for moths: the big green hornworm eats its way through the neighborhood tomato gardens, then burrows underground for the winter and pupates. In spring, after the moth emerges from the pupa, it must dig its way to the surface.
Back to our tomato worms. There are both green and black chemical means to rid your tomatoes of the tomato worm and there are natural means. Since the tomato worm eats the leaves, you can dust your plants with finely powdered red pepper and the worms may move on to your neighbor's yard! Or, you can use a chemical insecticide as directed by your local extension center. If you target the young larvae, the bacterial insecticide Bacillus thuringiensis might work. The mature caterpillars, however, are very difficult to kill.
Or, you can root for your local wasps that lay their eggs in the tomato worm--have you seen their white egg sacs on the backs of some of the tomato worms? These wasp larvae consume the tomato worms from the inside and then pupate outside as those white egg sacs. If you see these walking tombs, you know they are no longer capable of hurting your tomatoes!
Just as an aside, there is a tomato worm called a tomato fruit worm. A green, brown or pink worm, it munches happily on green or ripe tomato fruit, eating holes as it goes. The corn earworm is the same critter, so damage to tomatoes is worse when they are grown in close proximity to corn! These tomato worms must be insecticide controlled.
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