Green hornworms are a huge annoyance to tomato gardeners. The larvae feed on the tomato plant and leave damage in their wake. If you see them you just have to suck it up and pluck them off and either squish them or drown them (I like to use a pail of soapy water). When I first started getting serious about gardening I would spot the hornworms with white looking eggs all over their backs because they were easy to see. I thought these were especially bad because the eggs would hatch and out would come scads more of the green hornworms. I was mistaken!

Just this weekend my husband plucked a cocoon riddled hornworm off our tomato plants and headed for the trash can with it. I told him that he had just gotten rid of some very good friends for us! Wasps lay tiny eggs on the hornworm and then the eggs hatch and then the hornworm is eaten as a first food for the wasp larvae and then the larger white egg looking things are the wasp cocoons. It is a parasitic relationship that benefits the organic gardener.

So if you see this in your garden, leave the green hornworm alone!



-Jess