Tobacco Hornworm

I am taking care of 7 hornworm

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• horn
• worm
• Tobacco
• hornwom
• tobacco worm
• tobacco horn
• tobacco hornworm
• eating
• leaf
• eating leaf
• moving
• green worm

[CombineWizard]

Update on the pupae, please?

[coocrow]

@CombineWizard sorry for the late reply i would've put a update on the pupae but since they pupate in the dirt i didn't want to kill it by digging it up looking for them. since my last pupae got killed specifically for that reason i didnt want to kill them. well at least 5 became a moth 2 died :(

[CombineWizard]

@CombineWizard It's good to draw in/feed the moth s that give you more larvae to rear indoors and enjoy, as well as just having some outside for nature.

[CombineWizard]

@CombineWizard I use recycled foam cups, gleaned from trash cans that only had water, pop, tea or coffee in. Big cups can be cut to size, poke some drain holes in the bottom fill with some peat, plant 2-3 seeds per cup and you will have lots of tomatoes and leaves for both you and the hornworms. Hummingbird feeders also work for sphinx moths as do certain flowers to feed from.

[CombineWizard]

@CombineWizard Make sure there are a few good sticks/twigs in place, for the moths to climb on, for proper wing development and drying. Growing tomato plants can get expensive if you buy plants, plus you don't know what chemicals have been put on them, since no nursery intentionally sells pre-infested plants. Seeds are cheap and easy to start, especially in some of the peat now available.

[CombineWizard]

@CombineWizard Larvae will run into each other, and even resurface some times, before finally settling down. Make sure tubs are in a spot you won't need to move them from, for that first week. Individual pupae can be sifted out, reburied in a separate container. Place as many as you like. They're not going anywhere, until they emerge as moths.

[CombineWizard]

@CombineWizard The peat is moist and very loose/fluffy. It is the ideal pupating medium and is easily raked through, with fingers, or sifted, to find the pupae w/o harming them. The trick is to give them at least 1 full week after burrowing, to retrieve the pupae. Also, if rearing multiples, do not just let newcomers bury themselves during that first week, either. Any 2-7 can be put in the dirt ONLY within just 12 hours.

[CombineWizard]

Okay, right now is the best time to make a small investment in a bag of peat from a local big box or Wal Mart. In addition, you may want to pick up a few small plastic boxes. I like the 5 qt size Sterilite ones for $1 from Wal Mart. Larger tubs are good, too.Hunt around for a few small 10-12 oz size empty water bottles or pop bottles. The shorter ones have less tendency to tip over. These are for the leaves and stems to go into. All caterpillars do best with fresh feed.

[CombineWizard]

@ConsulOfTheAge Agree 100 percent! I am not only a gardener, but a commercial grower and there's plenty of room for hornworms to flourish and I have bumper crops! Perhaps people like us, can be the best allies for these amazing insects. I love hawkmoths and hornworms!

[ConsulOfTheAge]

Finally someone who actually likes these! Too many dumb gardeners poison or mutilate them...