Mistaken identity

Tobacco horn worm

Sometimes I just think I know what I'm talking about.  Research can be a humbling experience.

I had planned to write about the pesky tomato horn worms that sneak onto my tomato vines and strip them bare before I even know they are there.  I was going to tell you stories of past encounters with these evil villains in my garden.  However, I decided to do a little research first, just to make sure of my facts. 

Surprise!  There is another caterpillar that looks almost exactly the same as the tomato horn worm and people (read "I") often confuse the two. 

What was really decimating my poor tomato plant was a tobacco horn worm.  Here is how to tell the difference.  The tobacco horn worm has seven diagonal lines along it's sides, while the tomato horn worm has eight.  If you really look closely, you can see that the tobacco horn worm's "horn" is a reddish color, while the tomato horn worm's "horn" is black.  The tomato horn worm grows up to be a five-spotted hawk moth, while the tobacco horn worm becomes a carolina sphinx moth.

Sadly, in the end, the two horn worms will always meet the same fate if I find them in my garden.  As fascinating as the horn worms may be, I like my tomatoes better than either of them.