If you grow tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, or other nightshades, there’s a good chance that you’ve encountered large green caterpillars feeding on your plants. Known as the tobacco or tomato hornworm, ...

Tomato hornworms, Manduca quinquemaculata, are large green caterpillars that devour tomato plants along with other nightshades including peppers, potatoes, and eggplant. They can also be a little ...

Early detection and removal is crucial. There are natural and chemical control methods. Planting certain herbs and flowers near your tomatoes can deter hornworms. As tomatoes grow tall and the yellow ...

While squirrels, deer and woodchucks are generally the most destructive consumers of garden tomatoes on Staten Island nowadays, the caterpillars known as hornworms pose a more subtle threat. The ...

Q: We’ve had this guy around for the last few days. What is he? A luna moth perhaps? What should we look for in coming days? A: It’s a hornworm, Manduca rustica (aka rustic sphinx moth), to be precise ...

The hornworm is a common name for a sphinx moth’s caterpillar (larvae). One species of hornworm is called the “tomato hornworm” because it loves to munch on the leaves of tomato plants. Another ...

Q: I saw lots of these bugs at the community garden this morning. They are massed on the open pods of a vine-like plant that has grown up the chain-link fence. The pods are about 3 inches long, ...

DEAR JESSICA: Look what came to dinner! I don’t know what this is but it truly is amazing to see. DEAR LINDA: That’s a tomato hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculata). Found throughout the United States, ...