Late yesterday afternoon I made my usual foray to pluck hornworms from the tomato plants and was startled to be dive-bombed by what I first thought was a small aggressive fly when I reached for one I spotted. When I backed up, it made a beeline for the hornworm on my tomato stem that I was reaching for. It was a braconid wasp! The hornworm would rear up and whip the upper part of its body toward the critter, briefly driving it away. So the wasp would come in at a different angle. It finally was able to land on the hornworm, which continued to whip and twist its upper body around as it was stung.

Nature in action... Though I still haven't discovered any hornworms hiding under leaves during the day.

That is so cool, Anney. I'm in N. GA. and was surprised to find my first hornworms today. I thought they came later in the season?

I have seen hornworms with the wasp eggs on their backs, but by the time that they hatch out 1/2 of my plant would be gone!

I let the paper wasps have the hornworms -- usually, by the time I see the damage, the worm has already become breakfast.

Hornworms may drop down to the ground or otherwise head toward the lower parts of the plant during the day. I've seen them at all times of day back when I had to hunt them, though they're much easier to see when they're feeding at dusk (they shake the plant). So I don't know where yours go.

--Alison
who is always happy to see a paper wasp doing its twice-daily patrols out there; they're really pretty mild-mannered, and no one's better at finding hornworms and fruitworms.

Hornworms are there. They do not "migrate" . They only eat. My best advice is to look for their turds. They are eating machines and that is all they do, they do not rest or relax. Hornworms just have good camoflauge.

dgroworelse no one said hornworms migrate. The question was where do they go in the day when they aren’t eating. And connieconsumer those aren’t eggs on their backs. That is their cacoon. They are alive inside the worm eating away at it when you see them.