I built new raised beds and filled with store bought bagged soil & manure which produced some great veggies this year for my first time. Last two days I pulled off 9 tomato hornworms from my tomatoes. I'm curious where they came from since my limited research tells me they reproduce & pupa overwinter in the soil.

I don't get it. It's all new bagged stuff! What am I missing? Thanks in advance.

A sphinx moth has laid eggs on your tomato plant and the caterpillars hatched out of the eggs.
https://texasbutterflyranch.co...

Purpleinopp is right. And the big sphynx moth only flies at night so you never see them. I usually get a handful of hornworms every year but this year it has been exceptionally bad. I've had a couple of dozen. But I water my plants by hand every day so I am able to spot them quickly.

It goes like this:
Egg--Larva (=Caterpillar)--Pupa--Adult(=Sphinx Moth)--more eggs.
An adult moth flew in and laid eggs on your tomato. They hatch into caterpillars that feed on the tomato plant. They crawl down the plant to pupate in the soil. When they're ready, the adult moths emerge and fly off.
In mild climate areas of California they may have up to three generations a year.
https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARD....

Thanks Debbie & Tiffany. Since I posted I found another one!

I think I caught them early enough because I did get a lot of produce for a newbie, but I'll keep an eye out. Sounds like tilling & crop rotation before next planting is the way to go, which I already planned on.

This gardening stuff is exhausting.

brauneyz said:
This gardening stuff is exhausting.

Tell me about it.
I could write a book on my bad experiences in the garden. Do you have a birdfeeder or go fishing? Hornworms have good uses as bird food and fish bait.

TomatoNut95 said: Tell me about it.
I could write a book on my bad experiences in the garden. Do you have a birdfeeder or go fishing? Hornworms have good uses as bird food and fish bait.

I don't, but if I had a bigger yard I'd go with a chicken coop. I hear they love 'em.

My tomato plants always look so terrible and don't make tomatoes anyway, I'd be thrilled to at least see one of those caterpillars getting some use out of the spindly volunteer plant that showed up this year. I got exactly 1 tomato from it. The moths are more interesting than that. But that's going off down another alley from the questions here...

If you're going to have few enough tomato plants that you can inspect them every few days, you should be able to just manually remove the caterpillars you find. That's much easier than tilling, which would not be 100% effective. The effects of tilling the soil can be wrecked drainage and soil micro-activity which converts raw organic matter into its final forms and deposits them where they can be utilized by roots. Tilling can be a great tool to loosen really compacted soil to get started, but raised beds shouldn't need tilling. Adding compost and organic matter to the surface periodically will produce much better results from natural "worm tilling."

The moths will find their way to you. Diligence really is the best control. Once you know what you're looking for, you'll spot the signs immediately.

Here is an egg, laid by the moth:


An itty bitty hornworm will hatch from it. They usually feed on the undersides of the leaves. Keep an eye out for the holes. Marked with red dots:


As they mature, they'll drop frass—little black pellets of caterpillar poop. When you see that, look directly above it. If you've caught it soon enough, that's where the culprit will be.

I usually just follow the line of missing leaves to the worm.

And I throw them outside for the birds to eat. They don't last long with all the jays and magpies in my area.

SedonaDebbie said: the big sphynx moth only flies at night so you never see them.

Nonsense!
Go out and visit the moon garden, enjoy the spectacle...



They are so extremely cool that I find it worth while to grow alternative host plants like black nightshade and those tomatillo with the tiny fruit that comes up everywhere in middle GA.

At my house, the songbirds get most of the hornworms, searching them out is a non issue.

Here's one looking for caterpillars on the ghost pepper plant...

I'm amazed how hornworms can blend in until suddenly they are huge. I see missing leaves before seeing the big cat. Also, mine usually get cocoons on them of parasitic wasps.

I pick off hornworms every year. This year, I had 7 or 8 worms. I look at the ground directly under the plant for the black poop and also check the top of the plants for missing leaves. Some stems will be completely stripped.

I wish I could have captured on video what happened this year! I walked up to the tomato plant and stood for a few seconds and watched a hornworm happily chomping away. When I moved, it immediately stopped, curled its body into a hump and froze. It was comical to me.

They have really good camoflage. I have heard that they glow if you shine a UV flashlight and I bought one, but haven't tested it.

OK, true confession here.
I don't like to eat tomatoes, even the best fresh-off-the-vine ones.
But, last Spring I was given several small plants, so I potted them up in hopes of attracting some hornworms and sphinx moths. I think they're really cool creatures. I'd rather have them than tomatoes.
The plants did well, but unfortunately I didn't get any hornworms.
My dogs ate all the tomatoes. They seem to like them, I don't.
OK, I'm not much of a vegetable gardener, but I do think sphinx moths are awesome.

Last year I had one on my goji berry vine


This guy got it, but not without a struggle. Their little feet clasp tightly to the stalk! Things got a bit trashed, but it was worth the show.

That would make a great video, Zoe! (might have to come with a warning for "disturbing content," however )

Wow, I had never heard of a moon garden. But now that I've looked it up, I WANT ONE! Dang, I don't have a single white flower in my gardens. I just happen to like really bright, vibrant colors. And I have a few spots in the gardens where I have Christmas lights strung around for a peaceful, enchanting evening. O.K. I usually collaborate with Mother Nature on all things gardening but I think she was chill about this. This winter I am going to figure out how I can squeeze a moon garden in here. Thank you, Stone!

And you have predator bugs in your gardens? Dang again! The only creatures that I've ever seen here with other creatures on their backs are scorpions carrying their babies! I occasionally get some ladybugs and mantis' but not much else. And for years I have been growing lots of nasturtiums, borage, mints, dandelions, milkweeds, yellow marigolds, zinnias and goldenrod and they have never attracted good predators to help me. I have tansy all over the place along with fennel, dill, parsley and cilantro which I let flower and go to seed all summer. And I almost never see a predator! I figured growing these to attract them was just a lot of malarkey but now I'm guessing that it's because I'm in high desert country and they don't naturally live here. Color me green with envy. Happy gardening folks.

I can confirm that indeed a UV flashlight at dusk with making finding the hornworms easier. The worms glow purple in the UV light. Just search Amazon (or your favorite online retailer) for "UV Flashlight." You can get them for under $10. I was able to quickly find the smallest hornworms with the UV light.

Only one more little bugger today. I think I'm making headway. I kneeled down to view my butternut squash (which are doing fabulously) and came almost eye to eye with him. Nearly went bum over teakettle.