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Large pieces from green fruit may also be chewed. Entire leaves and small stems may be consumed. At high populations, hornworms can extensively defoliate plants and scar the fruit. Small parasitic wasps and other natural enemies may effectively control hornworms but using broad spectrum insecticides can disrupt biological control. Hornworms feed on leaves, tender stems, blossoms, and fruit.

The adult moth is active at night, feeding on nectar from flowers and laying solitary eggs on tomato plants.

During winter the larvae remains in the pupal stage. Development, from egg to adult, takes about 2 months in summer. The adult moth is a strong flier with a wingspan up to 5 inches (12 cm). Larvae feed for 3 or 4 weeks, then burrow into the soil to pupate and transform into the adult moth.Īdults of the tomato hornworm are known as five-spotted hawkmoths, due to the pairs of orange-yellow markings along the sides of the abdomen. Black or green droppings (fecal pellets) on leaves are clue that hornworms are present. Mature larvae can grow up to four inches long but their striping pattern makes them hard to spot despite their size. The body is green with a blackish horn protruding from the end, and a series of white V-shaped markings along the sides of the body. Tomato hornworms are likely to be the largest caterpillars you will see in the vegetable garden. Tomato hornworms are well camouflaged among the leaves of their host plants.