Since I did not known to be on the look-out for these nasty worms, they had been allowed to feed until quite large and plump, and finally nearly killing my tomato plants in the process. Tomato- and tobacco hornworms feed on tomato, tobacco, potato, pepper, and egg plants. I remember reading a little hint to help remember the difference: Think of the white stripes on tobacco hornworms as cigarettes, and the “V’s” on tomato hornworms as in “vine ripe tomatoes.” People also call them tomato worms, or hookworms. If you really want to know the difference between these two worms, there are a couple of things to look for: The tobacco hornworm has white stripes along its body and has a red horn, while the tomato hornworm has v-shaped markings and a black horn. It doesn’t matter much which type they really are, as they do the same damage, feed on the same plants, and are controlled in the same ways as well. These worms are often mistaken with tomato hornworms, which is closely related. They cause a lot of damage to tomato plants, and will destroy them completely if left alone.
While studying my plants, pondering what might have gone wrong, I suddenly discovered two large, fat, brightly green worms on one of the stems! I was both shocked and horrified at the sight! I had never seen anything like it! My husband did a quick search on-line and discovered that these two hungry caterpillars were tobacco hornworms, and that they are extremely common in North America. I also noticed several partly eaten tomatoes still on the plants. Despite better efforts, my plants continued to go downhill, looking worse every day, until they were missing most of their leaves and dying. Several years ago I used to keep tomato plants on my deck (before my fenced in garden.) One summer I saw that my plants were wilting and not looking healthy, losing a lot of leaves and twigs.
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