Not horrific. Instead a wonderful example of nature's biological control in action.

The small white things are pupal cases of the tiny insects which killed the hornworm. Good thing to have around.

So please don't eradicate.

thank you for your response jean001. however, i haven't been watering my plants much less taking advantage of my last harvest. i'm hearing it's best to hand pick them, something that's unimaginable to me. not my best moment i know. if i get someone to cut the stems (bugs included) will this help. it'll be winter soon anyway. at this point i give up.

signed squeamish

As I said, the helpful insects killed it for you. Ignore it or knock it off with a stick.

hey jean001. i'm still finding many more. where are they coming from. by the way, they're huge and don't knock off easy. many are saying not to touch them. might i ask why, other than the usual eco cycle...

Do you see those white cocoon-looking things hanging all over the green hornworm? They indicate that the caterpillar has been parasitised by an extremely small wasp which has that task as her only job.

The wasp (as small as a gnat) deposits eggs under the skin of the caterpillar while it's busy munching on your tomatoes. Those eggs hatch into tiny larvae which begin devouring the caterpillar from the inside. As the caterpillar begins to die, that larvae emerges from the body and creates that white cocoon in which to pupate into an adult parasitoid.

Thus, we strongly urge anyone finding a hornworm that has been infested to leave it alone, so that more generations of caterpillar parasites can be born.

Understand?

I know....if you were squeamish before, you're REALLY squeamish now!

thanks rhizo1 for your kind and thoughtful response. my tomato garden has been no more since my last post. the only thing i could stomach at that time was a large helping of humble pie. :) had a friend take care of it. so, aside from the usual eco/noodle answer (evident above) which i totally got/get...dare i ask where these "things" came from and how do i attempt to prevent/limit any reoccurance (not evident above) should i loose my mind and venture out again. anything mentioned on this forum that may have had even the slightest impact. anything that may have worked for you...

Sandpebbles...tomato or tobacco hornworm caterpillars come with the experience of growing tomatoes, at least in much of this country. Most of us find it relatively easy to remove them by hand (they don't bite or sting) as soon as we see signs that they are munching on the tomato plants.

Personally, I look for the caterpillars before they get huge, and carry them to the bird bath, where they are much enjoyed by many kinds of birds. I've also seen cardinals, robins, and blue jays in the vegetable garden picking off caterpillars and insects of all kinds.

Between my efforts, a variety of predators, and many parasites the hornworm activity remains very low in my neck of the woods.

I know that this isn't what you want to hear. Do you think there's any hope of overcoming the squeemies?

yeah rhizo1, i've got the squeemies. it manifested itself in more like a 20 lb weight loss since i saw those horrors...LOL. do you think i should bottle it. anyway, i did read something about planting borage amoung tomatoes. does it do anything for those horrors.

I think a glass of wine would do a better job for you, lol.

Ouch...wine as opposed to humor in not so comfortable times...LOL. i'll still take the I-squeem hold the apathy. no worries. thank you for your original response.

If I find one of these that is not parasitized, I take a scissors to it. But then, I have a strong stomach and a sadistic streak.