Lookie what I found in my tomato plants the other day.
This caterpillar is literally as big as my index finger, probably a good 3 inches.
The only reason I noticed it, besides if being so huge, was that it was flopping around, because apparently a fly was bothering it.
I couldn’t figure out what this fly was doing exactly, but the caterpillar did not like it.
It would curl up like this almost trying to whip the fly away, but the fly kept coming back.
We still have our tomato plants but none have produced in months. Normally I would dispose of any pests on my plants, but since I knew this one would probably turn into a beautiful butterfly or moth soon, I decided to leave it.
How many caterpillars do you see in this picture.
What’s the biggest caterpillar you have ever seen? Wonder what this one is?
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Oh my! That’s a tomato horn worm. They turn into Hummingbird Moths. Very beautiful but very destructive. Glad your tomatoes are done for the season, the caterpillars will be thrilled for the feast!
I couldn’t find your linky today. Here’s my post:
http://familystampingfood.blogspot.com/2010/08/wordy-wednesday-allergy-test.html
My daughter’s allergy test…
I never realized caterpillars were so creepy looking up close! It is oddly beautiful, though. Great pictures, thanks for sharing!
Those are definetly tomato horn worms, those you don’t want to keep, but they make excellent snacks for chickens!
AHHHH!!! It’s the EVIL TOMATO HORN WORM! I hated those. And, they wave their heads around with those darn horns and can stab you. Hate them. They give me the creeps more than just about any other garden bug. HATE THEM. Ugh, *shivers.
Yes as everyone else said that is a Tomato worm… which is probably why your plants haven’t produced! They are not so cool to keep around and can devour a plant in a day! While he may be pretty.. for your tomatos he’s not 🙁 and watch it the horn might get you!
I stumbled across your website while blogging and I absolutely LOVE IT! I adore gardening! I have a small one of my own and just wish it could be as big as yours! I also enjoy to cook and bake! We just made some pickles last night my first time canning and hope they turn out good!!
~Have a wonderful Day! Nicki S.
Looks like I am the only one who didn’t know what this was!!
@Nicki, Hi Nicki, thanks for stopping by. I will have to do a worm hunt later today, and give my chickens a feast.
But luckily for my out tomatoes stopped producing around June due to the heat, not the worms. Actually I haven’t noticed that much damage, we usually have the plants pulled out by now, but we haven’t gotten around to it.
Hope your pickles turn out great!
@Jessika, Oh no I will have to watch out for those horns, scary!
@Trisa, I am so going to feed my chickens later, they’ll love me forever.
@Barb, I agree, scary and pretty at the same time.
@Candi, Sorry the linky didn’t work, not sure exactly why, hmmm.
They sound like they’ll be beautiful. I went back out the next day to search for the giant, and couldn’t find it. Wonder if it’s already transforming to a moth.
That is an impressive caterpillar. I like the markings on it, makes me think of some futuristic train or other transport device.
I do see the other comments, though. Probably not the best option for your tomato plants – though I have never heard of a tomato worm before, we always had to worry about other pests.
Oh the evil tomato eater! But cool series.
That’s a stunner! Will it become a butterfly?
Wow! That is a HUGE worm! Great pics. Thanks for sharing
THAT is the biggest catepillar I have ever seen!!
Came across your blog randomly… you posted a magnet that says “I used to jog but the ice kept falling out of my glass” – I have it too! It is one of my favorites.
Anyways, hope your chickens like those worms. When I had a tomato garden I got one too. Didn’t want to kill it either. Not sure what my husband did with it, but I didn’t want to know. 😉
I just started blogging a little while ago and must say I rather enjoyed reading a lot of your blog tonight. I’m going to add you to my blogroll – http://www.mymomrecycles.com
My mom used to pay us a nickel per worm to kill those things. Even cold, hard cash was not enough to make me get near them. Blech.
Well besides the fact that my first reaction was “EWWW, A BUG!” that’s a might impressive worm. Did you really get that close or were you using a fancy schmancy camera? What kind of camera?
It is always hard to tell with caterpillars, which are pests and which are not. I tend to take them off and put them elsewhere.
LisaDay
I fed a bunch of these to our hens and it was hilarious watching them flip out and play keep away! Our tomatoes are done too – just too dang hot in Houston even though we’ve had lots of rain and humidity – but I almost wish we had a few more of these bad boys just to feed them to the girls.
Wow! I haven’t seen a caterpillar in decades. These are wonderful shots. Thank you.
Su-sieee! Mac
This and That. Here and There. Now, Sometimes Then
Ready for more “Eww Factor” Look up on You Tube about the tomato horn worms and you will learn they are the host to a fly larvae. The flies look for these guys, pay their eggs on them and then the eggs live off the caterpiller! It is pretty amazing.