Biological Information:

• Common Name: Tomato Hornworm / Five Spotted Hawk Moth
• Scientific: Manduca quinquemaculata
• Family: Sphingidae

Symptoms and/or signs to watch out for:

• Leaf / fruit damage, droppings on leaves, fruit, ground.
• Damage to plants in the Solanaceae family, usually tomatoes, sometimes

Life cycle:

• Eggs – laid on low foliage, 5-8 days to hatch
• Larva – are green caterpillars, black and white stripes on the sides
  • Red and black spine on the rear
• Pupae – worms descend into the soil to pupate
• Adult – adults emerge from the soil in 2 weeks, and deposit eggs in the underside of leaves

Pest vectors:

• Host plants reside in the Solanaceae family

Overwintering Habit:

• Pupa remain in the soil over winter

Horticultural production information:

Preventative Strategies:

• Physical barriers

Threshold Level:

• Respond to pressure when worms begin feeding on fruit or damage too much foliage

Control options:

Physical controls:

• Remay / row covers / high tunnel plastic

Biological controls:

• Marigolds deter the caterpillar
• Predatory wasps

Chemical controls