A week or so ago, I saw the first hawk moth of the year flying in the garden. Hawk moths are large, beautiful flying insects with a lush furry appearance. Unfortunately, though, they portend the arrival of hornworms, the larval form of these critters. This morning I saw the first manduca sexta larva on the underside of a tomato leaf. The little bugger had already eaten a chunk of the leaf. I searched around the plants and found four more of these on the underside of the leaves.
Note the tiny black "horn" on the posterior end, thus giving the name "hornworm" to these insects.
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| Manduca sexta larval form on tomato leaf |
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| Manduca sexta on fingertip |
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