I hate Tomato Fruitworms

Check out the chutzpa of this guy who hatched inside my kitchen last week and got some good chompin' in before I noticed him. 

These tomatoes were brought into the house to ripen up.  Since the nights were getting colder, there was no hope that the tomatoes would finish ripening on the vines.  So as we were taking them down, we stripped off most of the green fruits.  We then brought the trays inside to ripen.

The trays were just hangin' out on my kitchen counter, and I must have passed them by a hundred times a day.  I don't know why I didn't notice this guy sooner, but all of a sudden, I caught sight of him, and Gack!  Where the heck did you come from?

If this were earlier in the season, and the tomato fruitworms were starting to attack my tomatoes, I'd have to move pretty quickly to protect them.  One year, I lost about a third of my crop because I didn't do anything to stop them.  It was the first time they had ever been a problem in my garden, and so I kept thinking that they'd just go away.  Not a good idea!  Now, when I see the first signs of an infestation, I immediately go on-line and purchase eggs of the predatory insect, the Trichogramma wasp.

The Trichogramma wasp's favorite food source are caterpillars like this voracious fruitworm.  But don't freak out, the wasps are so tiny, you cannot even see them.  I prefer using predatory insects rather than spraying or dusting, because it's much safer and quicker.  I don't have to take up valuable time mixing and applying an organic pesticide.

Fortunately, I don't have to do anything right now, though.  It's the end of the tomato season, and this little guy is the last of the tomato fruitworms.  For this year, at least.

Comments

[She Who Digs]

Hi Cynthia, thanks for stopping by at my blog. Re the parships: I must just have very rich soil, as it's not been added to for at least 3 years! I'm on heavy clay thought, so that can also cause the roots to bifurcate. I have a friend who lives in Maxwell California, in rice country- very different growing conditions to here! SWD

[Megan]

Hi Cynthia, Love the site! Have you/Do you ever plant the new tomatoes that supposdly grow during the Winter?

Thanks!

[Annette]

I never knew about the trichogramma wasp but now I'm curious to use this defense against caterpillars.

[Love Apple Farm]

Megan: In my opinion, I do not think it's possible to grow tomatoes successfully outside in the winter in California. The day length is just too short, and of course the weather is too cold, even for the supposedly "cold-weather" tomatoes. The amount of manipulation people would need to do to get an acceptable crop would be too much trouble for the average gardener. If you had a heated greenhouse with grow-lights, and really knew what you were doing, then it's possible. But the cold weather tomato purveyors aren't telling you that.

[Melita Israel]

I still have tomatoes growing in my garden. Dec 6. The plant is on the south face of a building. Think I'll pot it up.
The squash plant is coming out tomorrow. Just remember to pull off the blossoms so the fruit won't rot. The plant gives a longer season of harvest. PS I've very sandy soil.

[J. Carey, Homesteaders Garden Project]

Trap crop those tomato hornworms. Plant borage close enough to be next to the tomatoes, but at a location where you still can pick the tomatoes. The horn worms love borage more than tomatoes! At the first sign of frazz, the small chunks of black horn worm catepillar poops/BM/feces, cut off most of borage as one bunch, put the bunch into a plastic garbage bag, seal. No more Hornworms!
You eliminated them!

Cynthia, your website is a feast for the eyes. Thank you!

[Jan Bryant]

Cynthia- WOW what a wonderful site. Every time I open your site I walk away with new information-Thank you sooo for all your hard work & sending it our way. Jan

[Michael]

those are hornworms (Manduca quinquemaculata), not tomato fruitworm moth larvae (Heliothis zea). the hornworms are much larger, and, ultimately, less damaging.

[Love Apple Farm]

Michael: The picture is indeed the tomato fruitworm, also known as the corn earworm, or bollworm, scientific name Lepidoptera. They range in color from pale yellow (which you may be more familiar with in Florida) to the light green that we have here in California. I sometimes get tomato hornworms as well. I do agree that they are less destructive than the fruitworm.

[Laura]

HI!

I came across your Web site seeking info on a BROWN caterpillar I found on my tomato plant. This guy had two green stripes running the length of him and didn't seem to be destroying anything, unless I just got to him too quickly for him to get started, I have photos and cannot match his appearance to anything. Any ideas?

If not, I enjoyed perusing your Web site anyway! THANKS! Laura

[Love Apple Farm]

Laura: email me photos at loveapplefarm@gmail.com and I'll see if I can figure it out.