The tomato hornworm is common and a handful can devastate a tomato plant in a few days. They may look like they are covered in rice. Those are the eggs of a parasitic wasp. They are good and the worm should be left alone so the eggs hatch.
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19 Comments
I bit into and Unf ate part of one of the worms as a kid. I accept anything FOREVER that will get rid of the damn worms! I didnt eat tomatoes for 5-8 years 🤘🏼🥴
Wow I never seen an hornworm covered with so many eggs.
Lucky this season none show up in the garden. Same w squah bugs.
Lucky lucky.
Thanks! I wish I had known this a month ago when I plucked this very thing off my tomato plants and flung them into the woods. I’ll know better next summer! 🍅🐛🥚🥚🥚🥚🥚🥚🥚🥚🥚🥚🥚
It’s of,l haven’t seen bugs this yr🤷♀️
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So a horn worm with eggs on it a couple weeks ago. I guess they hatched and ate the worm. Since I haven seen it latley
I’ve been extremely lucky with my tomatoes! I’ve seen 2 horn worms 🐛 and one was covered in wasp cocoons.
I just get tired of wasps making nests on my carport and eaves of my house.
I had this very scenerio last season and I knew what it was and just left it alone as a natural experiment. I felt bad for the little guy and he died a slow death but it was an interesting thing to see.
I just moved from the southwest to the northeast and saw one of these covered in those eggs in my garden. So weird to see up close 😮
I had a catalpa worm that the parasitic wasps got. I had never seen them on anything other than tomato hornworms.. was interesting to watch.
I understand it is simpler to explain it that way but the white things are actually the cocoons of the adult wasps before they emerge to look for more worms to lay eggs on. The female wasps lay their eggs under the skin of the worm. By this point the larvae have eaten the caterpillars insides and it just hangs on while the little wasp larvae emerge and make their cocoons. They do look like eggs, and most people wouldn’t care if they were eggs or cocoons. I just thought you might like to know. Neat little buggers aren’t they?
Never seen that and I’ve gardened most of my life. I’m 76.
Never seen this before, I don't think they live in my climate/region. Too bad, they seem pretty cool! Luckily the hornworms aren't a huge issue for me usually and I follow the damage and throw them under the bird feeder.
I had those, thought they might be eggs from the hornworn, disposed of it. My concern is if I can use the soil in the container for my fall planting??
An infestation of horned worms and cut worms destroyed most of my tomato plants. The cut worms have spread to my peppers. They will be getting a healthy dose of Spinosad tonight. I have a lot of hornets, and red wasps around the yard, but haven't seen any sign of parasitic wasps. I wish I had some.
In all my Gardening Years I have never found 1 I Routinely Inspect.Also I love to Prune Most leaves.
The hard part is that they can destroy a plant overnight. I cut them in half ✂️
I've seen many hornworms. I've only seen one with those eggs. Looked it up and saw that the eggs are wasps. The wasp I saw hanging around that day was a red wasp – first time I saw one of those. They're from the south, but have migrated north due to unseasonably warm winters for the last several years. I looked up Red Wasp – some said it's aggressive. I'm allergic and terrified, so hornworm had to go.