I've been growing tomatoes here in the Florida panhandle for several years. Previously, the only pest I'd have to deal with are hornworms, which appear usually the end of June and July. There are never many, but all it takes are a couple!

I just came inside from picking off about a dozen small caterpillars from my plants that I'm growing in a dozen 20-gallon tubs. No pics -- destroyed the evidence! I've never seen these before. They were 1/2" to 3/4" long, dark green/brownish, soft-bodied, and basically non-descript. Perhaps I caught them before they matured to the point of being larger with more identifiable markings. As near as I can figure with some Googling, they're either armyworms or fruitworms.

No damage to any of the developing fruits, just to the foliage. Each one had "sewn" a leaf together and was hiding inside. I've read as much as I can find on these types of caterpillars, but no mention of this particular behavior. Any educated guesses? Another odd thing that I noticed were leaves cut from the plants and laying on the medium at the base of the plants. Usually caterpillars are efficient and not "sloppy" like this.

The one good thing about caterpillars is that they are very "seasonal" in their appearance, and aren't like other pests that can continue appearing after they are removed. Thankfully, I'm hyper-vigilant about checking my plants each morning, and noticed the damage before it got out of hand.

FYI...

Bruce