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Growing Tomatoes

So, parasite infested hornworm...

13 years ago

Found an infected big boy hornworm on my tomatoes (I jumped about five feet back and emitted a girly scream the first time I saw it). He's covered in cocoons but still moving and eating. Should I ignore him and let the wasps finish the job or remove him? How much more damage is he likely to do?

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Comments (3)

jean001a
13 years ago
Yes, ignore it. Likely to do minimal damage at this stage.
digdirt2
13 years ago
Agree. The benefits gained by ignoring him are 10x greater than anything he can do now.

Dave
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fcivish
13 years ago
By ignoring him, you won't do much to prevent hornworm problems this. year. But it is already pretty late this year. However, by ignoring him, two things happen. First, since he is parasitized, he will NOT produce offspring to infect your tomatoes next year. Second, you will be producing MORE parasitic wasps in your area for NEXT year, and each parasitic wasp will be available to lay eggs and parasitize a lot MORE hornworms in the future. Hopefully catching all the hornworms early and preventing future cycles of hornworm infestation.

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