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Re: Tomato Horn Worn

> >How does one combat the green tomato horn worn, or polyphemous.
___________________________________________________
> >Chris

> You didn't say how severe your problem was.  The easiest way to handle a
> minor infestation is to just pick them off.  They are so large they are
very
> easy to see.  After you've picked them, just use your favorite method of
> slug-execution on them. 
> 
> Sally Wolff
> spwolff@whidbey.net
> Whidbey Island, WA 
___________________________________________________
> From: Plylerd@aol.com
> To: veggie-list@eskimo.com
> Subject: Re: Tomato Horn Worn
> Date: Monday, April 28, 1997 2:06 PM
> 
> Tomato hornworm is the larva of one of the Sphinx moths and not a
polyphemus.
> Polyphemus larva does not have the horn but does have tufts of black
hairs
> along its back and eats leaves of trees and shrubs such as oak, hickory,
> maple, etc.
> 
> Tomato hornworm is most easily controlled by hand picking. It is
frequently
> parasitized by a wasp which lays white eggs on the body of the hornworm.
If
> you find one of the affected hornworms, do not kill it. The parasite will
> take care of that and will help eliminate hornworms of succeeding
> generations.
> 
> Where I garden in Zone 6 they have never been a serious problem  and I
have
> never used a pesticide for them. Hope they won't be a serious problem for
> you, either.
___________________________________________________

Plylerd & Sally,

Sorry for clipping your notes together but I thought it to be the easiest
way to reply.

Thank you for your notes, my neighbor always told me polyphemus, so they
are sphnix moths, thank you for  clearing this up!

As far as the severity here in my area, they can be devastating.

Three years ago I left on a business trip on Sunday when I returned on
Friday I had 12 tomato plants (Full Grown) that were literally eaten to the
ground.

Last year I was able to stay ahead of them by hand picking and we put up
180 pounds of various tomatoes! Damage was still heavy but not as bad as
past years.

I would like to try a biological control if one exists!

The wasp sounds interesting!

Thanks!
Chris
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