I think tomato horned worms are really pretty... I wish they weren't so voracious. They stripped a large nicotiana plant in 24 hours once... more vegetable matter than I consume in one day!!!! I had borage growing in my old garden, and I don't know if it's a myth or not, but my tomatoes never were bothered.... that nicotiana was approx 1/2 an acre away.

Im curious about the seemingly smaller caterpillars that I'm told are eating my young citrus plants. Any advice? Thanks!

If you are looking for an ID, Jay, we need to see a picture.

Are they eating your citrus, or not? What kind of damage are you noticing?

To the original question, you have tomato (tobacco) hornworm. Yes, they can eat a lot of tomato or tobacco foliage very quickly, but I've still never found a need to resort to pesticide (organic or standard) to control them. Mechanical removal works best. Also, google up some pictures of paracitized hornworms -- if there are little white dots long the back, it probably has been paracitized and isn't long for the world. You might also want to plant some flowering tobacco (nicotiana) elsewhere in your yard. It's an excellent ornamental plant and the hornworms love it -- more, it seems to me, than they love tomatoes.

Mary, the original post is nine years old! Good information, though.

Fortunately I have so much birds around, and I always leave a full bucket of water for them to drink. I never see any big hornworms on my tomatoes. I grow a bit of onion and borage in the spaces between my tomato plants.

We feed the worms/caterpillars the the chicken.

The hornworm only eat leaves of the poisonous Night shade family, Belladonna, tomato,pepper,white potatoes, egg plant & nicotiana.