As I was thinning the tomatoes the other day, I was about to grab a runner to snap it off and I could hardly believe my eyes. There was the biggest caterpillar on the vine that I had ever seen. And it was this beautiful green with yellow spots. Out the back end, it had a wicked little black spine, like on a blackberry bush. It was a fantastic insect. Of course, I had to google and find it!
The tomato hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculata) is a green caterpillar, the larval form of the five-spotted Hawk moth of the Sphingidae (Sphinx) family common throughout the American continent. Tomato hornworms are known to eat various plants from the family Solanaceae, commonly attacking tomato, eggplant, pepper, and potato. Accordingly, tomato hornworms are often found on defoliated tomato plants, the caterpillar clinging to the underside of a branch near the trunk. They are difficult to spot due to their coloration. They eat a lot! Tomato hornworms are closely related to (and sometimes confused with) the tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta). This confusion arises because caterpillars of both species feed on the foliage of various plants from the family Solanaceae, so either species can be found on tobacco or tomato leaves, and the plant on which the caterpillar is found on does not indicate its species. The larva of these species can be distinguished by their lateral markings; tomato hornworms have eight V-shaped markings while tobacco hornworms have seven diagonal lines. Furthermore, the caterpillars can be distinguished from the larval stage onwards by the color of the horns on their back ends: Manduca sexta caterpillars have red horns, while M. quinquemaculata caterpillars have black horns.
Needless to say, mine was a quinquemaculata (tomato version, black spine). The moth that results is huge, about 4 or 5 inches across. Very interesting. My specimen ended up in a jar over at Emmett's house.
1 comment:
I will vouch that it definitely WAS a sight to behold....but....ewwwwwww!
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