what kind of worm is this? = tomato fruitworm

[sheeshshe]

Found it on my tomato plant, it isn't a hornworm...

[rainbowgardener]

I'm thinking it might be tomato fruitworm (aka corn earworm):


https://www2.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfa ... es/tfw.jpg

Nasty little pest that will bore holes into your tomatoes.

[Francis Barnswallow]

Not sure of the name but I do get caterpillars that look like that around late fall to early winter. They butcher my tomatoes if I don't catch them. They have legs at the front and back of their body, none in the middle and they get to be about 2 inches in length. Had one bite my finger when I was ripping out dying tomato plants last January. Nasty little guys.

[valley]

If it has a red antenna it's a tomato bug.

[imafan26]

It looks a lot like the corn ear worm or tomato fruit worm. They are the larvae of a brown moth. They are most active in August and September and are difficult to control once they get inside the fruit.

If you have corn then selecting a tight husk corn and using Bt on the tassels helps.

Tomatoes are best if they are put in protective bags. I make my own bags from tulle, but some people use used dryer sheets and paint filter bags as wraps.


https://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r113300911.html

[rainbowgardener]

If it has a red antenna it's a tomato bug.

tomato bug? I never heard of such a thing. I tried googling it and all I got were references to the tomato hornworm. Is this what you are talking about?

tomato hornworm:


https://grapeseedfarmproject.files.wordp ... n-worm.jpg

the red thing is not an antenna, it is on the opposite end. It is the reason it is called a hornworm.

Imafan agrees with me that it sheeshshe's pest is tomato fruitworm, considerably smaller than hornworm.

[sheeshshe]

ugh. are you kidding me?? they will bore into the tomato?? seriously can't win here. So, if I've seen 1 or 2, there must be plenty others, correct? they're hard to spot.

if one sprays bt, do you have to get under the leaves? or will it work if it just gets on the tops of the leaves?

[harryhh]

Your picture is a little out of focus and not close enough, but it looks like the same thing I have on my tomatoes. The caterpillar cornworm, or corn earworm, or, on tomatoes, the tomato fruitworm. They eat different fruits and come in different colors. On tomatoes they often bore into the stem end, but will bore in at any point.

I'm very new to gardening, but I sprayed my tomatoes with malathion one week ago. Mostly that seems to have done the trick, but I did find one baby caterpillar and a couple new damaged tomatoes. The malathion may not kill the caterpillars in all stages of their life cycle. So, I'm going to spray again in a couple of days. Since I'm new to this, you should ask others about the best way to kill these things, and hopefully with something that kills them even in the larval stage.

Read the directions for the insecticide you use, and be careful about not spraying too often. From what I read, you generally want to spray when you have a problem. Not really to spray as a preventative. These chemicals are pretty strong, and people just don't like that anymore. I do have an organic soap insecticide, but it doesn't kill many different bugs.

For the sprays that I have used, insecticide and fungicide, organic or not, most say to spray both sides of the leaves. That can be difficult, especially on tomato plants. I have a 2 gallon pump sprayer with a two foot angled nozzle, and that helps. But for tomato plants, it's still difficult to get full coverage of both sides of the leaves.

As for sprayer's, it seems that anything under $15, half of them don't work right out of the box, and the other half barely work, and go bad fast. I have a 2 gallon Roundup sprayer. Nothing fancy. A little more than $20 I think. It works reasonably well.

Harry

Edit: Looking at your picture again, your caterpillar seems to have vertical stripes. Maybe it's only the way the segments look in the picture though. The caterpillar cornworm has horizontal stripes, always I think. Anywhere from very faint, to very prominent.

[imafan26]

The thing about Bt for caterpillars, make sure you get the right one. Bt will not harm beneficials, but it also does not last long so timing of the spray is important. Bt is a stomach poison and must be consumed to kill the larvae. It does not happen right away as the caterpillar essentially starves to death. It is important to get good coverage. The undersides of leaves and fruits are good because it is darker there and Bt degrades in light. Parasitic wasps control most of the larvae but spraying with insecticides will kill them. Once inside the fruit, the larvae are pretty safe from topical sprays.

Scouting for eggs and larvae, removing and destroying infested fruit, timely applications of Bt and using covers to protect fruit helps.

If you use chemical insecticides then you will need to make repeat applications while the moths are active and you still need to destroy infested fruit to prevent the larvae from maturing.

https://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r783300111.html

[sheeshshe]

I'm so upset about this. Yet another pest. This year I have all kinds of new pests I haven't seen before. It is just making gardening even harder!

[rainbowgardener]

You are right Harry, many of us do not like malathion. It is highly toxic to honeybees and other beneficial insects and to many aquatic creatures and somewhat toxic to birds

[sheeshshe]

these guys really hide well. I could see some poo on the leaves but I couldn't find the worm!

[Francis Barnswallow]

these guys really hide well. I could see some poo on the leaves but I couldn't find the worm!

When I find their poop they are not too far away, and they leave behind massive poops......for a caterpillar that is. If you find another one take a clearer picture of it. The neon green color (and size) of your caterpillar looks 100% like the ones I get.......and yes, they are experts at blending in. I'm thinking the pest you're having problems with is the same one I get when it starts to cool in my area. It happens every year and when it does I put ziplock bags around the larger green tomatoes. If you do that, cut a small hole in the bottom corner of the bag so that the moisture inside of it can leak out.

Just make sure you seal the ziplock bag around the stem leading to the tomato. I usually check them once a day and they usually stay mostly sealed unless a strong weather system moves through and loosens the seal. When that happens I put a few drops of superglue on the seal and that usually keeps the seal tight until the tomato is ready to be picked (I pick them while their green and put them on the kitchen counter to ripen).

[sheeshshe]

yes, I really think it is what it is. I followed the poop everywhere and I couldn't find the bugger! I've also seen a few hornworms, but not many. I'm sure I must be missing those too!

The thing is, this year I put most of my tomato plants within two narrow fences. I can't really get in there well, so I have to search from the outside of the fences. I thought it sounded like a good idea at the time when I placed them that way, but gee. It sure is making it hard to look for pests and prune off disease on leaves actually, not hard... practically impossible. but the stems have grown through the fence, so I can't exactly take down the fence. plus I tied some of it to the fence as a stake. looks like I won't be doing it this way next year!

[Francis Barnswallow]

looks like I won't be doing it this way next year!

I learn from my mistakes every time I grow veggies. All part of gardening.

[harryhh]

You may want to take a look at this, particularly the insecticide recommended. Apparently they are a little hard to get rid of.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q= ... 5853,d.aWc

So far, they have destroyed just over 80% of my tomatoes.

I found these two things on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Demon-Max-Insecti ... pfulgar-20

https://www.amazon.com/Suspend-Insectici ... pfulgar-20

If you check into them, the more expensive one seems to be the better one.

Ask people who are more knowledgeable than me about this insecticide, and see if you want to go that route.

Good Luck,
Harry

P.S. I should note that on tomatoes they are usually called Tomato Fruitworm. Corn and tomatoes are their favorite foods.

[rainbowgardener]

You do like those toxic chemicals! I didn't look up the second one, but the first / demon one is cypermetrin. I found a bunch of toxicity info on it, but the copy link thing on my smart phone didn't work. Anyone who cares can look it up for themselves.

Bt and Spinosad are harmless organic controls for them.

For future reference, trichogamma wasps are parasites on them. Growing yarrow, carrot family plants (parsley, fennel, etc - you have to let some flower), sweet alyssum, lemon balm, pennyroyal and other mints, tansy, marigold, sage, cilantro in and around your garden will attract these and other beneficial insects to your garden. I hav every one of those plants in my garden and I have never seen a fruitworm.

[applestar]

I'm so upset about this. Yet another pest. This year I have all kinds of new pests I haven't seen before. It is just making gardening even harder!

I think weather patterns have a lot to do with arrival of new or unusual pests in the garden. I think I'm safe in saying most of us are experiencing unusual weather this year.

[applestar]

these guys really hide well. I could see some poo on the leaves but I couldn't find the worm!

When I find their poop they are not too far away, and they leave behind massive poops......for a caterpillar that is. If you find another one take a clearer picture of it. The neon green color (and size) of your caterpillar looks 100% like the ones I get.......and yes, they are experts at blending in. I'm thinking the pest you're having problems with is the same one I get when it starts to cool in my area. It happens every year and when it does I put ziplock bags around the larger green tomatoes. If you do that, cut a small hole in the bottom corner of the bag so that the moisture inside of it can leak out.

Just make sure you seal the ziplock bag around the stem leading to the tomato. I usually check them once a day and they usually stay mostly sealed unless a strong weather system moves through and loosens the seal. When that happens I put a few drops of superglue on the seal and that usually keeps the seal tight until the tomato is ready to be picked (I pick them while their green and put them on the kitchen counter to ripen).

I thought this bagging with a ziplock bag is a neat trick! I'm going to remember that for future reference. Thanks, Francis B

I'm picking tomatoes when they are fully blushed (Color changes from green to pale then first blush of color most of the way up the fruit. Fruit is still hard.) I don't think I'm experiencing any loss in flavor doing it this way.

[sheeshshe]

I'm so upset about this. Yet another pest. This year I have all kinds of new pests I haven't seen before. It is just making gardening even harder!

I think weather patterns have a lot to do with arrival of new or unusual pests in the garden. I think I'm safe in saying most of us are experiencing unusual weather this year.

the weather has definitely been all over the board!