Monday, October 4, 2010

The fall of the tobacco hornworm (part 1 of 3)

This is the beginning of a 3 part series. In the next few blog posts, you'll see:

Yes, I've been very busy and have suffered no nightmares thus far. Lots of goosebumps though. Lots and lots of goosebumps.


Day 1 (above): I found this guy on my cayenne pepper plant. Hornworm covered with braconid parasitic wasps. The beneficial parasites lay eggs inside the tobacco hornworm. Leave your hornworms alone if you see it with all these horrifying goosebump-inducing things attached.


Day 2 (above): as the eggs of the parasitic wasps hatch, the larvae basically feast on the hornworm.


Day 3 (above): Today the hornworm looks a little wrecked. It has fallen off the plant and was on the ground. You can see that most of the little cocoons have opened and the parasitic wasps have emerged and taken flight. Have I mentioned goosebumps?


Day 4 (above): I can't believe just 4 days ago, the hornworm was eating away at my pepper plant. Today, it's basically done.

Label note: you might know I hate bugs, even though as the educated master gardener intern that I am, I realize that I'm really using the word "bug" improperly (see this post). The only label I have used for all my bug posts was "I hate bugs". However, I have had to add a few more labels here. In this case, "I may not necessarily hate bugs" because the parasitic wasps will that have emerged from these nasty little cocoons will take care of any remaining hornworms in my garden. When you see the spider and butterfly posts, you'll see why "I don't always hate bugs" sometimes. Sometimes. Stay tuned!

15 comments:

  1. This is so creepy and cool at the same time. I almost feel bad for the tomato hornworm. Almost.

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  2. err... these creatures are horrible looking... hope no other in garden...

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  3. Wow! It's like watching Animals Planet on TV! Good information!

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  4. I do feel bad for the hornworm. :)

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  5. Wendy, you're more patient than I am, because I couldn't stand to keep mine on my precious plants (I blogged about the hornworms and parasitic wasps in my garden last week). One thing I noticed, though, I think you have a tobacco hornworm and not a tomato hornworm, based on the red horn and the diagonal stripes. A tomato hornworm is supposed to have a black horn and V-shaped markings. The two are very closely related and feed on pretty much the same Solanum species. Perhaps the distinction isn't important, but I like to get my names stright. :)

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  6. It is so gross but so educational. This brings to mind the maxim,"the enemy of your enemy is your friend".

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  7. I agree....creepy yet cool....and seeing the progress of this is fascinating. And the words bug and dirt are fine in my world as well:) We don't have to write a science journals.....leave it to those who get their doctorites in plants yet can't grow a darn one:) I have a friend in this category:)

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  8. Hi Wendy, Kinda gruesome. I guess those guys wreak havoc on plants, don't they? But when they "grow up" they become the beloved sphinx moth--the nighttime hummingbird. What a tough choice...

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  9. Great pictures! I'm trying to feel bad for the hornworm but can't. They are just too destructive to get my sympathy.

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  10. I had plenty of goosebumps watching those wasps 'transfigurations' that looked like eggs. Now, there'll be one less butterfly. Oh, well, I guess that's how nature takes care of itself.

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  11. Horrifying, but that's nature at work in the purest sense. I love it.
    Excellent photos, Wendy!

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  12. minji - thanks for the info!! I have edited this post to reflect the correct info!!

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  13. Goosebumps and chills - thanks. :-P
    I've yet to ever see a hornworm in my garden. I'm not holding my breath though, I know it's only a matter of time. I've also never seen a parasitic wasp, are they scary?
    Your labels made me laugh. Very cute. I share your opinions of bugs. I'm starting to learn to live with them, but mostly, I still hate them.

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  14. Cool pics. I've never seen the entire process before (mostly because I pick the caterpillars off my plants and throw them into the woods whenever I ses them).

    I have a friend who asked me what these things were on her tomato plants. When I explained it to her, she was completely grossed out; I think it was a factor in her trying to grow some of her own food for only one year. On the other hand, it's a sad commentary on how far most people have gotten from their food and what's involved in brining that tomato to your plate...

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