They're back. Earlier this summer, we had a large crop of tobacco hornworms. I got those under control just in time for the blister beetles. I got the beetles under control just in time for a second batch of hornworms and romularia.Tomato gardening is not for the faint of heart.
Tomato hornworms and tobacco hornworms are almost identical. Tomato hornworms are darker, and the white stripes form Vs instead of just white slashes like the tobacco hornworms. These were so much darker, that I thought I had tomato hornworms, but the white marks are slashes, not Vs, so this is just a fall version of the tobacco hornworm.
They're just as destructive as the early ones and they leave just as much poop everywhere [called 'frass' I just learned.] They're harder for me to find this time of year because the plants are so much bigger and leafier, but generally, the worms like the sun. They'll go to the top or outside of the plant and eat and there will be nothing but sticks left. Also, they get so big they're hard to miss. Eventually, you'll find them. I pick them off and feed them to the chickens. The chickens are the only ones around here who like them.
