hornworm pictorial

[rainbowgardener]

McKenna: Back here https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... 22#p339122 I posted some info and a picture for you of squirrel proof birdfeeders. They really do work and you really can have bird feeders without the squirrels cleaning them out.

[JayPoc]

Well, after growing tomatoes for the last 8 or 9 years (not to mention a bunch of years as a kid in the garden with dad), I've finally seen this in person:



Sorry for the blurry pic...the twilight made photography tricky. I've actually found 2 like this in the last two evenings. Look at all those eggs!

[Lindsaylew82]

Yeeeeeees! Look at all the little baby waspies!

[JayPoc]

Yeeeeeees! Look at all the little baby waspies!

The other side of the caterpillar was covered in the same fashion. There must be well over a hundred eggs there. The caterpillar was in the exact same place this morning...hadn't moved an inch or eaten anything else....

[applestar]

Pupae not eggs, but yeah -- LOTS of next generation Garden Patrol.

Within the next week you see see the tops of those opening like little lids and winged adults emerging.

...if you want to, you could cut off the entire leaf (the caterpillar is not likely to eat much or move, if at all) and stick the leaf stem in one of those little water vials that fancier roses come in, put it in a large jar or aquarium with a paper towel or cloth rubber banded/tied on or even clear plastic wrap poked with bunch of holes for air. Then watch for the little wasps to emerge.

But they don't all come out at once, so as soon as you had the chance to see first few come out, you should put the caterpillar leaf or the entire container back outside with the top open. You can put it where you WANT THE WASPS TO START HUNTING, though there needs to be nectar rich flowers for them to feed from as well or they will not stay in the particular area.

[JayPoc]

Pupae not eggs, but yeah -- LOTS of next generation Garden Patrol.

Within the next week you see see the tops of those opening like little lids and winged adults emerging.

...if you want to, you could cut off the entire leaf (the caterpillar is not likely to eat much or move, if at all) and stick the leaf stem in one of those little water vials that fancier roses come in, put it in a large jar or aquarium with a paper towel or cloth rubber banded/tied on or even clear plastic wrap poked with bunch of holes for air. Then watch for the little wasps to emerge.

But they don't all come out at once, so as soon as you had the chance to see first few come out, you should put the caterpillar leaf or the entire container back outside with the top open. You can put it where you WANT THE WASPS TO START HUNTING, though there needs to be nectar rich flowers for them to feed from as well or they will not stay in the particular area.

hmm...maybe if he's still there this evening when I get home I'll put him in a jar...would be neat for the kiddos to watch...

[Lindsaylew82]

I haven't seen any hornworms since the one being attacked by the tachinid fly. We are having cool temps though. And the new bird feeder is helping also.

What a *struggle* I had with them earlier in the summer...

[rainbowgardener]

It may just be getting late in the season for them. Probably they have all turned in to sphinx moths by now.

[applestar]

...or they are snuggled under the mulch looking like this:

[Lindsaylew82]

I've been rummaging around. I found 1 much earlier. I'm hoping I was just very thorough and got them all!

Optimism!!!

[applestar]

...I accidentally cracked the loop that is often thought of as the "tail" and to my surprise, it looks like the moth's proboscis is in there ...but I thought these moths don't feed?

[applestar]

While looking for something else, I came across an OLD hornworm thread -- it's not even showing up in the "related topic" list at the bottom of the page

Subject: Horn worms

[applestar]

EXCITEMENT

One of our kitties noticed that the hornworm has eclosed DD's and I peeked in the cup to see....

It was scrambling around in the bottom of the cup with shriveled wings with, really, gorgeous dorsal coloration of the abdomen showing. I was able to get some good shots.

Then I relented and taped a strip of paper towel on the cup wall, without which it was unable to climb the smooth slippery surface. Once it reached the paper towel taped "lid", I transferred the paper towel to the butterfly enclosure ceiling so it can hang with plenty of clearance to pump up its wings, which it began to do almost immediately.

It seems to have broken off one of its antennae (or maybe that was
what was in the "tail" and was damaged when I cracked it). It's oozing
clear green fluid from where the antenna should be

[applestar]

This morning, with wings fully extended:

This is as "fresh" and "beautiful" as it will ever be....
Notice you can't see the dorsal abdominal coloration
when the wings are held flat over it the way moths tend
to do. It will look different in flight.

[Lindsaylew82]

It's cool! I still got no love for these.

[Juliuskitty]

It's cool! I still got no love for these.

+ 1

[dsyukon]

Here's my nightmare !

HORNWORM II.jpg (28.29 KiB) Viewed 1242 times