Cultivation will expose hornworm pupae to killing cold and birds. Parasitic braconid wasp eggs on a hornworm Tomato hornworm controls Garden cultivationĮarly in the garden season, turn the soil where tomato family plants grew the season before. After feeding the caterpillars enter the soil and form brown, shiny, 2-inch-long pupae. Moths lay pale green eggs singly on the leaf undersides. The eggs hatch in a week then the larvae hornworms feed for a month. Adult moths lay eggs on the underside of leaves. Moths emerge from soilborne pupae in early summer. They often feed upside down on the bottom of the leaves. Hornworms easily blend in with the foliage of the plants they attack but they leave behind black pellets of excrement which are easy to spot. Good Products for Pest and Disease Control at Amazon:

Hornworms are the larvae of large, gray moths with wingspans of 4 to 5 inches. Hornworms feed on leaves, stems, and fruit of nightshade family plants-tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes, peppers, and others. Tomato hornworms are green caterpillars up to 4½ inches long with a black horn protruding from the tail and eight V-shaped white marks along the side.Ī related hornworm is a tobacco hornworm with a red horn on the tail and seven white diagonal lines with a black border.

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