Tomato Hornworm: The Caterpillar That Eats a Plant Overnight
Three-inch green caterpillar, white V-shaped stripes, harmless to humans, devastating to a tomato plant. Hand-pick is the whole organic protocol.
Tomato hornworm is the large green caterpillar that turns a productive tomato plant into bare stems in 48 hours. They are the larva of the five-spotted hawk moth, native to North America and present from coast to coast. Despite the name and appearance, they are harmless to handle — the 'horn' on the tail is decorative.
Symptoms & ID
Identification + early signs
Three to four inches long, fat-bodied, bright green with seven or eight white V-shaped stripes down the side and a curved tail-horn. They blend into tomato foliage and are easiest to find by what they leave behind: large black or dark-green frass (droppings) on lower leaves, and a sudden missing leaf or top branch overnight. Scan along the stem under any leaf showing damage — they hide on the underside.