Mealtime in the garden of good and evil

Parasitization of the Tomato Hornworm by Braconid Wasps photo by Liisa Abbatiello

If you've ever wondered what's eating your tomatoes, not to mention what's eating what's eating your tomatoes, ask the Bugman.

[via Yahoo! Picks]

More secrets of insects and the people who love them over at Backyard Nature (scroll down):

. . . because Tobacco Hornworms eat tomato plants, gardeners often buy large numbers of braconid wasps to biologically control hornworms -- get rid of them without using poisonous chemicals!

Well, which is it, tomato hornworm or tobacco hornworm? Either or both:

The tobacco hornworm larva (Manduca sexta) is generally green with seven diagonal white lines on the sides and a curved red horn. The tomato hornworms (Manduca quinquemaculata) have eight V-shaped marks on each side and their horn is straighter and blue-black in color. These "hornworms" are the larvae of hawk or sphinx moths, also known as hummingbird moths. The tobacco hornworm is the most commonly seen of the two, but both may be found on the same plant.

Hey, Mr. Bugman, look at those red horns (above photo). I think your "bug" is of the tobacco variety.

Comments

[L. R. Chamberlain]

Hey, is there any real room for the positive aspects of Manduca species here? I think this whole organic gardening thing is getting out of hand if it means dumping untold millions of Braconid and Trichogramma wasps out there just to control the nightshade hornworms. These wasps don't stop with them and infest most other sphingids. Most sphingids and the majority of Manducas are by far, not only benign, but as adults, beneficial. The parasitic wasps destroy ALL caterpillars, including many butterflies and our most beautiful of moths....the saturniids!
All sphingid moths are beneficial as pollinators! In fact, I am currently researching the use of the nightshade Manducas for biological control of a serious noxious weed not even native to this continent. The picture you have of the adult hawkmoth, is Hyles lineata. It is a non-pest and quite attractive species. If Manducas don't have any cultivated nightshades around, their natural food plants are weeds, including the toxic jimsonweed, horsenettle, deadly and black nightshades.