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Garden pests
Tomato hornworm
Manduca quinquemaculata and Manduca sexta · Insect
Also called tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta) (Southern USA, Central America and the Caribbean), five-spotted hawk moth (the adult) (North America).
Illustration
Huge green caterpillars, up to 10 cm long, with white stripes and a harmless horn at the tail. They strip tomato leaves and bite into green fruit. Look for dark droppings under the plant, then hand-pick them.
How to spot it
- Big green caterpillars up to about 10 cm long, with white V-shaped marks along the sides and a dark horn at the tail (black in most sources, blue in one).
- Whole leaves and small stems eaten, usually from the top of the plant down, and large bites out of green fruit.
- Dark, barrel-shaped droppings on the leaves and the ground below; the bigger the droppings, the bigger the caterpillar.
- The caterpillars blend in so well they can go unnoticed for weeks.
- Adults are big hawk moths with yellow spots along the body that hover at flowers and can be mistaken for hummingbirds.
Easily confused with
Tobacco hornworm
Seven diagonal white stripes and a red horn; treat it the same way.
Cutworms
Much smaller, dull brown caterpillars with no horn that curl into a C and cut seedlings off at soil level.
Where it's a problem
- North America: Common across the USA and into southern Canada. The tomato hornworm is commoner in the north and the tobacco hornworm in the south, where their ranges overlap.
- Central America/Caribbean: The tobacco hornworm also occurs through Central America and the Caribbean.
What to do
- Check plants every few days through the season: look for droppings first, then search the leaves above them.
- Hand-pick the caterpillars or snip them with shears, and drop them into soapy water.
- Leave any hornworm carrying white cocoons on its back. It has stopped feeding, and the wasps that hatch will attack other hornworms.
- Dig or cultivate the soil after harvest to destroy pupae spending the winter there.
- Let natural enemies work; they normally keep numbers down.
If you use an insecticide, choose one labelled for tomato hornworm and follow the label and local rules. Sources say hornworm damage rarely warrants an insecticide, and sprays work best on small caterpillars.
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Sources
- University of California IPM: Hornworms
- University of Maryland Extension: Tobacco and tomato hornworm on vegetables
- Utah State University Extension: Tomato and tobacco hornworms
- Ohio State University Extension (BYGL): Hidden hornworms
- NC State Extension, Pamlico County: Hornworms in tomatoes
- UF/IFAS Extension: Tobacco hornworm
- University of California IPM: Cutworms
Facts checked Sunday 27 September 2026. General guidance only: follow your local council, agency and product label.