First you think, ooo cool, then you see the munching & decimated mater plant. Then you get mad, then you google. Well it turns out that the hornworm turns into a moth, kinda normal except it kinda hovers like a humingbird. Yeah a hummingbird moth. kinda cool. And if you have plenty of maters & you aren't trying to make a living off of them.... you might let it live.
I mean, whats so great about tomatoes? I'm sure there are some delish weeds out there. what up? Git ooouuuuttt. Don't MAKE me kill yo arse... please... I'm a lover not a killer.
Like I said though, they are easy to lose sight of.... UNLESS!
...............tune of underdog...................
..........here I come to save the daaaaaaaaay.....
I confess that this week is the first time I ever heard of, let alone saw with my own eyeballs the hornworm's natural predator. And boy was it excitin! It actually happened just before that latest thunder boomer & I was torn between carrying it out with me to get a photo and running to shelter to save my personal electrical system from potential zappage.I think I made the right decision.
SO here I share with you , in case you ever see this... You should know, it is creepier than the hornworm its own bad self and even more GAWjuss in its own ultimate way...
Ladies & Gentlegardners I give you Cotesia congregata .........
A Braaconid wasp (pupae)... A Beneficial!!!!!
The female wasp lays eggs just under the skin of an unlucky hornworm. As the eggs hatch, the larvae feed on the hornworm–literally eating a hornworm alive. Larvae chew their way out through the host’s skin when they mature. Once outside, the future wasps pupate, spinning tiny oval cocoons that look like insect eggs along the external back and sides of the worm. These fellows–and ladies–are not just innocently hitching a ride. When the adult wasps emerge from the cocoons, the already weakened hornworm will soon die, thus preventing any further defoliation on tomato plants. So, if you see a bright green hornworm carrying what looks like a clutch of white-colored insect eggs on its back, leave it there! The hornworm is not only feeding its own destruction, it is also carrying potential destroyers of hornworm brothers, sisters and descendants. The braconids get a meal and a future, and the hornworms get…GONE! ( this information was summarized from Betty Gray - a Galveston Master Gardener)
If you enlarge the photo above, by clicking on it, you can see the little larvae are like little cotton swabs. We found numerous Hornworms with this 'affliction' and they will remain. Think of how many wasps are here on this ONE caterpiller they must live on. No spraying anything that will hurt the waspies, and i guess that means BT cause the worm would no longer be able to survive thus giving the wasp its much needed nutrients.... right hattie?
Now that you know what I know, feel free to fill in any blanks. I'm a novice. Loud & Proud.
oh & come on by the booth Saturday at the historic complex, 'cause damn the worm we got maters.
Eat Local!!
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