Well, Hello!
| August 18, 2010 | Posted by Morgan G under Guest Bloggers, Outdoors, plants and gardens, Sustainable Living |
One day last week hubs calls me out to the yard insisting that I “really need to see something” before “he gets rid of it”. Boys really know how to sell potentially scary/gross sights, right? I found him, arms folded, standing in front of my favorite planter box – that half wine barrel that houses our two tomatillo plants. He pointed. At what? I didn’t know. “Lean over,” he said. And I did and…I still didn’t see anything. “There,” he pointed. Oh me, oh my. He showed me my first tomato worm.
Thank goodness he knew what the hell it was, because if I had stumbled across that monster when I was all by my onesies, I’m not sure what the neighbors would have thought. All I could do was gasp. I was really stunned at the size of Señor Tomatillo Eater, but also by how really beautiful he was. Avatar-green, with white stripes and black and yellow flecks. He was gorgeous, but gorging, so I had to have him removed. I brought Hubs a pair of tongs and watched him tug and tug until the worm reluctantly relinquished my plant, then take flight as Hubs flung him over our wall.
After the encounter, I had to learn more about that bugger. Turns out, sending him packing was the right thing to do. Apparently one worm can destroy a perfectly healthy plant in two days. Since they blend in so well, you’re lucky if you catch them early. (Thanks, Hubs.) I found it incredible that these worms are babies, larvae to be precise, of this hugh moth called the Five-Spotted Hawk Moth. Their preferred meal is the tomato or pepper plant.
Of course, it was important for me to learn how to get rid of Tomato Worms naturally. What I found is kind of awesome/kind of gross. Parasitic wasps called braconids have the nerve to lay their eggs inside the Tomato Worm. The eggs hatch and eat their way out of the worm. You guessed it, the worm dies in the process. Bummer is, if you release wasps and they do their thing and lay eggs in the worm, you have to let the worm be (eating your plants and all) until it dies. * Note: If you see a Tomato Worm with a bunch of white sacs protruding from its body, don’t kill it or throw it over your fence with tongs. Those sacs are the wasp eggs.* The good news is, once the eggs hatch, you’ll have plenty of these beneficial braconids buzzing about your yard. Not to worry, they don’t hurt humans.
Many thanks, Linsi and David! Now get out their and check those tomatoes, peppers and tomatillos! mg
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