GARDEN / pests: Hornworms make fast work of leaves Home Edition

These moths resemble hummingbirds and are easily confused for them. They fly at dusk and at night, and frequently hover around flowers, feeding on nectar with their elongated mouths. The larvae are fat and green, reaching a length of 3 to 4 inches, with seven white diagonal slashes down both sides o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Atlanta journal-constitution
Main Author Howell, Jim
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Atlanta, Ga Atlanta Journal Constitution, LLC 30.09.2005
Subjects
Butterflies & moths
Gardens & gardening
Pest control
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Summary:These moths resemble hummingbirds and are easily confused for them. They fly at dusk and at night, and frequently hover around flowers, feeding on nectar with their elongated mouths. The larvae are fat and green, reaching a length of 3 to 4 inches, with seven white diagonal slashes down both sides of their bodies. Later in the summer and early fall, the mature larvae often have many white oval masses clinging to their bodies. These are cocoons of a small parasitic wasp. --- CONTROL > Mechanical control: Hand-picking offers good control in a small home garden --- if you can locate the intruders. Examine the plants carefully in July and August, especially if leaf feeding is noticed. > Biological control: The parasitic wasp that produces the white cocoons seen on the outside of the hornworm larvae feed on the inside of the hornworm, then emerge to the outside to pupate, eventually killing the hornworm larva.
ISSN:1539-7459