We found an adult hornworm moth on a tomato plant in the garden this morning. For those of you who garden you should be very familiar with the larval form of this moth, as it is voracious eater of tomato plants. While the adults do not eat plant material, I am sure this one was looking for healthy tomato plant to lay its eggs.The adults are often called hummingbird moths, you can often find them at dusk zipping around and they hover like hummingbirds near tubular flowers sipping the nectar with their long tongues
The caterpillar of this moth is green in color with a "horn" for a tail. They are well camouflaged and often hard to spot in the garden. They grow up to 5 inches in length! These caterpillars feed ravenously on leaves and fruits of tomatoes and related plants, and since they are harmless, they are easy to pick up and toss from your garden.
