Found this fat fellow having himself a nice nibble ( lemmy.world )

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/17588319

[Image description: a thicc green hornworm hanging onto the stem of a tomato plant. The hornworm is speckled with little white dots, has eyespots and angular white stripes down his side, and the namesake sharp little spike of a horn on its butt.]

Etterra ,

When I was a kid once of my chores was to check for these little fuckers on my mom's organic tomatoes, since she never used pesticides.

She did buy Mantis egg cases every year but they weren't enough to stop them all. On the plus side, that area developed a population of mantises at least partially because of them.

kinkles ,
@kinkles@sh.itjust.works avatar

I encountered these assholes for the first time last summer in my little box garden. I love caterpillars, so when I saw one I left him alone to snack. The next day I found close to 10 more and my plants were in bad shape.

OddQuality ,
@OddQuality@lemmy.ca avatar

They're terrible, but damn if those eye spots don't look like they belong in a surrealist painting. Bugs are neat (and terrible).

evasive_chimpanzee ,

Always double check that they are still active before killing them. I've found several on my tomatos before that have been essentially paralyzed. If you let them be, you'll see some cocoons of these parasitic wasps show up on their back. They will then go seek and destroy any others in your garden.

thrawn21 OP , (edited )
@thrawn21@lemmy.world avatar

Don't know the range of those wasps, but I'm in inland southern California, and I don't think I've ever spotted a worm with them. Kinda glad of that tbh, the whole idea gives me the heebie geebies.

evasive_chimpanzee ,

I don't know. I suspect that since it is a specific predator that has co-evolved with tomato hornworms, they would completely overlap ranges. Looking at the map of observations people have put on iNaturalist, though, it does not look like they are in your area, so who knows.

kubica ,

Nice photo, I hate it but I like it... but I hate it... but I like it...

I_Fart_Glitter ,

When I was a kid I had a dog who loved to put these guys in his mouth. He'd come in with a funny look on his face, we'd lift up his lips and he'd have one or several of them tucked up between his gums and cheek like it was tobacco. No idea why that was so appealing to him.

bingbong ,

They have nicotine in them, your dog was probably buzzed

teft ,
@teft@lemmy.world avatar

If you’ve got one you probably have a bunch. Check under every leaf and get rid of those fuckers.

thrawn21 OP ,
@thrawn21@lemmy.world avatar

I wish that they were the biggest problem bug for my tomatoes, but that title goes to the godforsaken spider mites. They decimate my plants every summer as soon as the weather turns hot, and I've tried so many things to combat them.

This year I've applied a couple rounds of predator mites, and in addition to some ruthless pruning of affected plants, I feel like I'm actually holding ground in the battle. Though really hoping that the predator mites will establish a population, as they're a pricy solution.

The_v ,

Predator mites work best on corn (they eat the pollen) and in the greenhouse. As you've noticed when it gets hot they don't do as well.

Stethorus punctillum work for when it gets hot.

thrawn21 OP ,
@thrawn21@lemmy.world avatar

Yeah, would be nice if I were in a closed environment and could keep them from running away!

I've tried neoseiulus californicus and galendromus occidentalis, and also zelus renardii as a generalist predator. I've considered stethorus punctillum, might have to give them a shot too.

SchmidtGenetics ,

Is safers soap something you would be interested in maybe using? It’s safe on vegetables after washing them.

thrawn21 OP ,
@thrawn21@lemmy.world avatar

Yep, I've tried various soaps and all kinds of oils, tried regularly spraying down the leaves to keep them dust free and the humidity up, tried removing plants at the first sign of infestation, all of it seemingly futile under the literal avalanche of mites I get every summer. If I miss a few days of these preventative measures, my poor tomatoes will have leaves gone from a slight sign of damage to a fully webbed death. And it's not like my plants are water starved either, I use drip irrigation under thick mulch, so the soil stays moist even on the hottest days.

It's been really constraining on my growing season. I'm often able to get plants in the ground around mid-February and get a good harvest in May, but June/July is spent just watching all my plants die a lingering infested death. I'm in 10a, so I should easily be able to get a second summer crop in, but new seedlings planted at the end of spring seem to fare even worse than their established brethren. Hence why I've finally decided to spend the $$$ on predators, really hoping that their population establishes and tames the micro menace.

SchmidtGenetics ,

Shit that’s rough, is it localized to just you? Or do your neighbors get it as well?

Atelopus-zeteki ,
@Atelopus-zeteki@kbin.run avatar

Death to Hornworms!!!

thesporkeffect ,

Shame the adult moths look so cool ;_;

Atelopus-zeteki ,
@Atelopus-zeteki@kbin.run avatar

I know! Also, they are pollinators. And it tickles when they lick drops of water off one's fingertips. But I will not dissuade myself.

SpaceNoodle ,

I presume it went for a swim in the soapy water jar moments thereafter?

thrawn21 OP ,
@thrawn21@lemmy.world avatar

I usually put them out on my driveway and it doesn't take long before a bird spots my tasty snack offering. Someday I'd love to have chickens to give them to instead.

SpaceNoodle ,

Great idea. I've got a family of crows on the property that appreciate big bug snacks.

Martineski ,

Is it just perspective or is this thing MASSIVE?

SpaceNoodle ,

These fuckers get huge, fast. They will strip your tomato plant bare if you don't catch them early.

tpihkal ,

They can get quite large and will decimate a tomato plant in a day. Suffice to say, there are no survivors in my mother's garden.

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