Subject: Tomato Hornworm?
Geographic location of the bug: Hawthorn Woods, Illinois
Date: 10/19/2017
Time: 11:10 AM EDT
Hi, I found this in my garden, used your site to identify it being a tomato hornworm, and wanted to forward you the photos. Have a great day!
How you want your letter signed: Joe B.
Dear Joe,
The average gardener probably doesn’t care that this is actually a Tobacco Hornworm, Manduca sexta, since it looks so similar to a Tomato Hornworm and both species feed on the leaves and fruit of tomatoes and related plants in the garden. According to BugGuide: “Larva: large green body; dorsal “horn” (usually curved and orange, pink or red) on terminal abdominal segment; up to seven oblique whitish lateral lines, edged with black on upper borders. The similar looking Tomato Hornworm, Manduca quinquemaculata, has eight v-shaped stripes and a straight blue-black horn. These caterpillars are often confused and misidentified.”
