5 Caterpillars You Can Find on Tomato Plants

Most can agree that caterpillars eating the leaves or fruit of your tomatoes are garden pests and should be controlled. There are many types of caterpillars that feed on leaves or fruit, or worse – both. They are often identified first by the waste (or rather brass) they leave, and then by the damage, they cause. Often the caterpillars hide under the leaves and come out only at night. Some are green and blend in well with vegetation. Note the color, shapes, forms, and size of the caterpillar you see. Use the handy list below to see what they do and how to control them.

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1. Tomato hornworm

These green caterpillars can be identified by eight white horizontal V-shapes that run down the sides of their bodies, each with a black eye next to the V-angle. They also have a black horn protruding from the rear end.

Tomato hornworms (Manduca quincumaculata) are large, visible, and known to feed on the upper leaves of the plant first. They hide under leaves during the day and feed at night, stripping leaves from stems. It empties them in the morning or, at the very least, when chewing a lot. They leave black balls on the leaves—a sign to check under the leaves for green monsters. By the time they are fully mature, they are 4 - 5 inches long. They also feed on other plants in the nightshade family, such as potatoes, eggplants, peppers, and tobacco.

These caterpillars are from the Hog Moth, Sphingidae family of moths also known as Sphinx Moths. The caterpillars of these moths are hornworms. The tomato hornworm moth lays its eggs in late spring and hatches in about a week. These caterpillars feed for 4 - 6 weeks before mating.

The best way to control these caterpillars is to pick them off the plants and drop them in soapy water or feed them to your chickens. They are non-toxic, so they can be taken easily. Invest in a very inexpensive black light flashlight to easily spot hornworms on your plants. Alternatively, use an organic insecticide containing Bacillus thuringiensis or similar products designed for caterpillars. Insects must consume the material to be effective. This stomach poison is dangerous to them but not to other beneficial insects or plants nearby.

Reapply after rain to maintain control using specific instructions. Insecticidal soaps will control the tomato hornworm, but only if they come into contact. Parasitic wasps can help reduce populations naturally by laying eggs inside hornworms. When they hatch, the larvae eat the hornworm from the inside and spin the white cocoon shown below.

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2. Tobacco hornworm

This caterpillar is green in color like the tomato hornworm but has a white stripe down the side of the body. They usually have seven white stripes with black spots, black eyes next to the stripes near the legs, and a red horn on the back.

The tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta) also feeds on plants in the nightshade range, including tobacco, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, and peppers. They act like their cousins, the tomato hornworm, except that the caterpillar is responsible for these caterpillars with different markings and the Carolina sphinx moth. They strip leaves from stems at an alarming rate, damage the green skin of tomatoes, and invite other pests and diseases. Use the same control methods as the tomato hornworm to remove it from your plants.

3. Yellow-banded armyworm

Generally three types of armyworm attack tomato plants at night. The yellow-striped armyworm (Spodoptera Ornithogalli) has a yellow stripe running down the side – hence the name – with a dark body with other brown stripes. They have a dark spot on the back of their body and an inverted V on their head. They feed on a wide range of crops and ornamentals and mature to about 2 inches in length.

Sometimes called owl moths, these moths belong to the Noctoidae family, the largest in the moth world. In different regions, the time may vary, but they are usually active from mid-spring to late autumn. The only time armyworms are absent is during the winter (unfortunately, when it's not tomato season). These moths lay 200-500 eggs at a time and hatch in only 3-5 days depending on the temperature. The name armyworm says it all when these caterpillars get to the point of destroying a crop.

Armyworms are often found on host weeds in the area before migrating to food and ornamental crops. Once you get them, they will eat the leaves and quickly damage the tomatoes. Armyworms have many natural predators. However, due to their numbers, relying on them to control infection is often a losing battle.

If they are caught when they are small, they can be controlled with an organic insecticide, preferably containing Bacillus thuringiensis, which infects the caterpillar's abdomen and destroys it from the inside. Apply as directed for best results. Pesticides can also help control nearby weeds.

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4. Beet armyworms

Late in the tomato growing season, you may find these tiny creatures feeding on tomato leaves and fruit. Beet armyworms (Spodoptera exigua) are named because they are abundant in beets, but they can also attack other plants such as asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, potatoes, and corn. They are pale green to yellow with stripes on the body. They grow less than an inch.

The moth is called the small mottled willow moth and lays eggs in large numbers on the leaves. When the caterpillars' hatch, especially during the tomato growing season, they can easily destroy many plants. They are known to attack buds and new growth, leaving silken threads as they move from plant to plant. They are most active at night.

To control these caterpillars, check plants for damage early in the growing season and avoid using pheromone traps or hand-pluck them in soapy water. Although there are many natural predators around, sheer numbers can force the use of biological controls or chemical pesticides, among which there are many to choose from. Neem oils have also been found to be effective. Make sure to read the instructions and follow them properly. Follow-up treatments may be required to bring pests under control.

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5 Fall armyworms

Unlike other types of armyworms that attack tomatoes, the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) is active at different times of the year - from late summer to autumn. In warmer regions, it is active throughout the year, including winter. This type of female moth lays more than 2000 eggs. Within days, the larvae emerge and begin feeding on hundreds of different food crops and other ornamentals.

They are striped in various shades of brown and sometimes green and yellow. As they mature they begin to develop white stripes on the body and have a pale inverted V on the head. They grow to about 1 - 1.5 inches in length. These caterpillars can cause severe damage to the fruit, causing it to rot and drop. Pheromone traps are effective as moth traps and Bacillus thuringiensis treatments are often helpful when larvae first appear. Because these insects burrow deep into plants, once they mature, they can only be controlled with insecticides designed to control fall armyworms.

Make sure to follow any instructions exactly and follow up to control.