Raising Tomato Hornworms... how?

14 years ago

First of all, I literally know nothing about insects or gardening - that's my mom's area of expertise. But I threw a fit one time when she wanted to kill a Tomato Hornworm, so she gave it to me. Unfortunately, his wings came out deformed, and I didn't learn why until it was too late. :(

I'm raising my second Tomato Hornworm now, and I believe he's ready to pupate. He's very stiff at times when I pick him up (although he's always been feisty, unlike the first one, and has thrashed around like there's no tomorrow a couple of times) and he's extremely dirty - he looks like he's been trying to burrow around in the very light layer of soil I had in the container. I put him in the soil to let him finish his cycle in nature, but he doesn't seem to be able to burrow on his own. He keeps falling over onto his back. I have a few concerns because of predators, etc.

I'm wondering if I should just put him back into the container I had him in, wait until he makes his chrysalis, and THEN put him into the soil. Is that okay? I have no idea what I'm doing - all I know is that I don't want to raise him on my own while he pupates because I will feel absolutely horrible if his wings come out deformed like the first one. I do not have a container large enough to put a stick in. And I don't know if I was doing other things wrong or not. At the end of the day, I just don't trust what little knowledge I have to be enough to make sure he emerges as a healthy moth, so I'd rather him do it out in nature without my interference and where he has the resources he needs.

So. Does keeping him in the container until he's fully a chrysalis sound reasonable? If so, how deep should I bury him into the soil once that happens? How close should I put him to the stem of the tomato plant, so that he can crawl right up there when he becomes a moth and let his wings dry/pump blood into them?

And if that doesn't sound reasonable - I'm just trying to make sure his wings come out the way they're supposed to, so what else can I do? I'm probably more attached to him than I should be to a caterpillar, but hey I don't even like to kill spiders lol.

Any tips or advice? I would appreciate it :)

Featured Answer

napapen

9 years ago

You could bury it outside in moist soil!

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Comments (11)

TrishT
Original Author
14 years ago
Well then. Nevermind... I think. I went to check on him after I finished writing the last post, and it looks like he managed to bury himself into the soil in the 10 minutes I spent writing that. I can see a little bit of him sticking out, so I assume he's still burrowing. He'll probably be completely invisible by the time I'm done writing this one. Yay :)

I'm still curious though - how far down is he going to burrow himself? Will he be safe down there from whatever critters live inside the dirt, while he's still a soft little caterpillar?

I know this sounds insane (like I said I get too attached lol) but I kind of just want to make sure he's going to be okay.
shannon74
14 years ago
I am sure he will be fine, he knows what to do! You are better than me, though, I would have stolen him for myself to raise, I am not very good at letting nature do its thing. hahaha I know when I have raised them they go down a couple of inches, not sure how they do it in the wild. Good luck to him!
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tomatoworm59
14 years ago
The cat will overwinter as a pupa. Just do not disturb the container for at least 1 full week after it burrowed in. Then move it to a cool, safe from mice place. It is okay to dig it up just to make sure you have a live pupa and it did not die in the making.
I'm a little partial to hornworms.
napapen
14 years ago
I am raising two hornworms who are brown big pupas. I just moved them to a container in the refrig buried in spag. moss.
Plan to look at them once a week to make sure all is ok. Spag moss is dry should I dampen it a bit.

It is very low humidy now in N. Ca and while moss was damp, it has dried out. When I moved them, they both showed they are alive and kicking!!

Penny
tomatoworm59
14 years ago
Yes, penny, the medium needs to be kept moist, but not soggy.
asksshaw
10 years ago
i have experience with them. to feed them, especialy if they are deformed, you have to make sugar water, and then take a toothpick and roll the probuscus with it into the water. at first, they will try to pull it out but make sure you get it in. you will begin to see them move the probuscus around and slowly pulse with their head. do this until they pull it out and do not look hungry.
brandolph53
9 years ago
I'm in So California. Do I have to put my horn worm in the fridge when she becomes a pupas.
asksshaw
9 years ago
i have been to so cal over the summer and raised hornworms there. you don't need to refrigerate them but you should keep them in a big terrarium with damp soil and they will be able to pupate there. make sure you keep them in a cool place (not too cold, just cool). also, they like to bury to pupate so i would recommend to keep them in a terrarium with a lot of soil as caterpillars so they can pupate under ground. thats better than burying them once they have pupated.
tomatoworm59
9 years ago
True, and they should never get below 55 degrees, for best health, overwintering or off-season.
In addition to tomatoes, these cats love the invasive cutleaf nightshade, groundcherries and silverleaf nightshades, too.
HU-817064302
8 years ago
I, when I raised horn worms and they were preparing to pupate, wrapped them in a damp paper towel then put them in two solo cups facing each other and after a couple days I would take them out to check on them. I live in Arizona, so that was the only way that I could safely help them out. The soil outside is way too warm.