Tobacco hornworm and parasitic wasps

[thedaniel234able]

what would happen if the wasp that gives out this stuff stung a person? would this happen to the person if left untreated?

[bmoisset]

@thedaniel234able: These wasps do not sting. And they don't lay eggs on humans. Parasitic wasps such as this are highly specific; they only parasitize one species of caterpillars or maybe a few closely related species.

[CptSmokeAlot]

00:52 AHHHHH! ITS ALIVE STILL!!

[bmoisset]

@CptSmokeAlot

Yes, it was still alive. It surprised me too. I doubt it that it would last much longer, poor thing!

[MyFishCare101]

poor caterpillar. I just finished reading a book on insects and read how mean wasps can be :( I like caterpillars.

[Hollyhocks0]

The tomato hornworm is the larval stage of the Five-spotted Hawk Moth. I do not do this with the hornworm but,I take what ever is bothering my plants and blend them with water. Then spray the plant they came off. They don't like eating their dead. i pick the eggs off and take them down the road to the person bragging too much about their garden and drop them off. LOL

[arachnidsrulz12]

those wasps are going to go high

[AandFBrunetteQT]

sweet video. very gross.

[EarthREALTOR]

Manduca sexta or tobacco hornworms make great Panther Chameleon food. I am looking for some to buy for my son's chameleon even though they give me the creeps. I have used the wonderful parasitic wasps (Trichogramma Wasps) for webworms in ash trees before. Manduca quinquemaculata or tomato hornworms give me the creeps on my tomato plants. I'll have to sick my son't chameleon on them!

[homegrowntomatoes1]

Very nice footage of a very natural, yet sad, part of nature. 5-Stars!

[jizzznizzle]

What I would do: I would kill them.

I hate bugs :O

[bmoisset]

Sorry that you feel this way. Without "bugs" there would be no flowers and no flowering plants because they need pollinators. A large number of birds feed on insects, so they would also disappear without bugs. Even large species such as bears and alligators depend on bugs directly or indirectly.

In summary, we need bugs; it is better to learn to appreciate them.

[jizzznizzle]

I'm just saying that if I saw those guys right there and then I would kill them.

I'm not saying I'd kill all bugs. -_-

[bmoisset]

Which ones would you kill? The caterpillars that eat your tomatoes or the parasitic wasps that eat the caterpillars? Are you sure that you want to kill the parasites that keep the tomato eaters population under control? Not a good idea.

[jizzznizzle]

Well if I was standing there and I saw that right there and then I would just burn the whole thing. I'm not saying I'm gonna go on a journey and kill everyone single living parasite. I hate bugs and that's just what I would do. If it's not what you would do then that's cool, it isn't a big deal to me.

[bmoisset]

You still don't get it. If you like tomatoes, the caterpillar is your enemy because it eats the tomato plants; but the parasite is your friend because it eats your enemy. I understand your wanting to kill the caterpillar; but, why in the world would you want to kill the parasites that feed on your enemy?

[TheSanityInspector]

Some people are just creeped out by nature in the raw.

[CallHimVick]

@bmoisset Because he hates bugs.

[DragonSlayKins1]

I saw one of these and then the next day it shrunk

[FlyinRyan1985]

i got a ton of those in my tomatos, thankfuly all my tomatos have grown and been picked, just bad ones remain, but none of em have those cocoons on them

[bagayezekiel1]

What Happens When You Remove The Eggs?

[bmoisset]

Those are not eggs, they are cocoons formed by the fully grown larvae to metamorphose into adults. You can see the adults flying away. The eggs are almost microscopic and are placed inside the body of the caterpillar. I never saw those.

[Lvduggo69]

Thoes are tomato plants not tobacco !!!

[bmoisset]

Yes, they are tomato plants but this is the tobacco hornworm; there is also a tomato hornworm. They are closely related and both feed on tomato as well as tobacco plants. The adults as well as the caterpillars are a little hard to tell apart but they are different.

[chrisshartzer]

it's funny how the plant lover hates the hornworm but the reptile lover loves them. I raise plants, reptiles and insect feeders so hornworms never bother me!

[megastagbeetle]

you can barely see the green color because so many eggs and like that you got them hatching

[bmoisset]

They are cocoons. The larvae were born from eggs inside the caterpillar and lived inside until fully grown; then they came out to build their cocoons and metamorphose into adults. Rather gruesome but an efective pest control.

[ottovw]

Awesome! You got a shot of them emerging.

[StealthyPapercut]

*shudders* That's kinda creepy and cool at the same time. :P

[philtirah]

great video! poor worm.

[frozentootsiepop]

Wow! What a great video! I just found a cocoon covered hornworm in my own garden and now that I know what it is I'm glad to see it! I can't help feeling a bit sad for the worm though. :/ What a way to die.

[Battlefrank8]

wasps=cruel

the poor caterpillar is obviously in pain.

And I like these bugs.

[pROTPANDA]

Its good that we have parasitic wasps, if we wouldn't have them our tomato plants would be destroyed by these damn worms!

GO PARASITES!

[hudblood]

Since this is on a tomato plant... it is probably a tomato hornworm, which is closely related to a tobacco hornworm. Awesome video of the wasps!

[bmoisset]

Thanks. It is Manduca sexta, the so called tobacco hornworm, very closely related to Manduca quinquemaculata, the tomato hornworm. They both eat both plants and related ones. To add to the confusion, some people mix up both names. It is better to call them by their scientific names.

[uncwboy]

Brings back memories from growing up on a tobacco farm. It was very common for us to get several of those things attached to our clothing in a day or to feel something pinching and it be one of those worms. The background sound also makes me thing of those hot summer days.

[sigma1920]

great capture!!

the hornworm is still alive and moving....

thanks for sharing this.

[bmoisset]

Thanks. I was very lucky that my friend found this on her tomato plants and that I got there just in time to see the wasps coming out.

[rainie1929]

A really remarkable video! One does not get to see this sort of thing very often. The horn worm obviously does not enjoy its parasitic wasps. Great job, Beatriz!