The tomato horn worm chews the leaves and fruit of tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, potatoes and dill-which is a good trap crop. The horn cannot sting and a red horn belongs to the tobacco hornworm. The caterpillar is 3 to 5 inches long with 8 white stripes on each side and a black horn projecting from the top rear. The tomato hornworm, Protoparce quinquemaculata, is the green caterpillar of a Sphinx moth. But because they are such fast and steady eaters, picking and drowning is a necessity if not a pleasure. Despite their size, these worms, the color of the plant, are almost invisible, and it took the two of us a long time to be sure we got them all - 15! The worms hang on tight and wouldn't be so unpleasant to handle if they didn't squirm. Garden gloves, my glasses, and a call to my husband for help. Quickly, a pail of hot water and a little detergent - I had no kerosene. It could only be hornworms - tomato hornworms - the most voracious appetites of very unwanted creatures. Instead of a forest of leaves on the South ends of the tomato beds there were only sticks. I opened the gate, walked toward the center beds and froze. The rain the night before had been long and steady so I had not been out to the garden until late afternoon to pick some chard and tomatoes for dinner.
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