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Found a horn worm this morning!

Anyone else love these things? I just can't help but admire its sea green coloration, with those cool stripes. Not to mention that badass horn! Truly a beautiful creature. I played with it for a while and fed it some tomato leaves from my hand. Then, very carefully, I placed him deep inside some pepper plants so that he would be shaded from the hot Alabama sun. Just kidding. I put my cigarette out on him and ordered some uv flashlights for night time hunting. Can't wait to smash these bastards.
 
Anyone else love these things? I just can't help but admire its sea green coloration, with those cool stripes. Not to mention that badass horn! Truly a beautiful creature. I played with it for a while and fed it some tomato leaves from my hand. Then, very carefully, I placed him deep inside some pepper plants so that he would be shaded from the hot Alabama sun. Just kidding. I put my cigarette out on him and ordered some uv flashlights for night time hunting. Can't wait to smash these bastards.


That was great......for a moment I was wondering what the hell was wrong with you! :lol:
 
The ones I have are exactly the same color as the leaves on my scotch bonnet.
Bastards.
And I'm trying to grow tobacco for the first time. They ate an entire leaf before I could eradicate them!!!
Worms shouldn't eat tobacco. It's bad for them.
 
How long did you look at him, I mean right at him, before you actually saw him? (bastards are all hims) It seems I find their poop long before I find them.
 
That was great......for a moment I was wondering what the hell was wrong with you! :lol:

haha I was smiling whilst I typed.

The ones I have are exactly the same color as the leaves on my scotch bonnet.
Bastards.
And I'm trying to grow tobacco for the first time. They ate an entire leaf before I could eradicate them!!!
Worms shouldn't eat tobacco. It's bad for them.


How long did you look at him, I mean right at him, before you actually saw him? (bastards are all hims) It seems I find their poop long before I find them.

It's unreal how well they blend in. I had to do a double take before I really saw it.

The good news is that the horn worm sighting coincided with the discovery that at least one of the 4 mantis egg cases hatched a while ago. Found 6 half inch brown mantids perched on leaves. They need to hurry up and grow!
 
haha I was smiling whilst I typed.






It's unreal how well they blend in. I had to do a double take before I really saw it.

The good news is that the horn worm sighting coincided with the discovery that at least one of the 4 mantis egg cases hatched a while ago. Found 6 half inch brown mantids perched on leaves. They need to hurry up and grow!

Mantiss ( mantisii?) are so cool. I swear they are attracted to humans but not like a mosquito, more like like a companion. There was one I made the acquaintance of a few years back, and while we were eyeball to eyeball, I swear he was trying to get a better look at me, or talk to me, All the time flayling his pinchers like some kind of articulated mime. Or was it charades? First word: BRING Second word: ME Third word: BUGS
 
Mantiss ( mantisii?) are so cool. I swear they are attracted to humans but not like a mosquito, more like like a companion. There was one I made the acquaintance of a few years back, and while we were eyeball to eyeball, I swear he was trying to get a better look at me, or talk to me, All the time flayling his pinchers like some kind of articulated mime. Or was it charades? First word: BRING Second word: ME Third word: BUGS
:rofl:
 
Anyone else love these things? I just can't help but admire its sea green coloration, with those cool stripes. Not to mention that badass horn! Truly a beautiful creature. I played with it for a while and fed it some tomato leaves from my hand. Then, very carefully, I placed him deep inside some pepper plants so that he would be shaded from the hot Alabama sun. Just kidding. I put my cigarette out on him and ordered some uv flashlights for night time hunting. Can't wait to smash these bastards.
 
Anyone else love these things? I just can't help but admire its sea green coloration, with those cool stripes. Not to mention that badass horn! Truly a beautiful creature. I played with it for a while and fed it some tomato leaves from my hand. Then, very carefully, I placed him deep inside some pepper plants so that he would be shaded from the hot Alabama sun. Just kidding. I put my cigarette out on him and ordered some uv flashlights for night time hunting. Can't wait to smash these bastards.

Tomato Hornworms don't like Basil. Try doing some companion planting with Tomatoes and Basil. Besides, these two just belong together in cooking.
Here's some fun info on the Hornworm at our Penny's Tomatoes Website.
The TRUTH on the Tomato Hornworm?? Can you handle the truth??
:dance: :lol: :dance: :lol: :dance:
 
Tomato Hornworms don't like Basil. Try doing some companion planting with Tomatoes and Basil. Besides, these two just belong together in cooking.
Here's some fun info on the Hornworm at our Penny's Tomatoes Website.
The TRUTH on the Tomato Hornworm?? Can you handle the truth??
:dance: :lol: :dance: :lol: :dance:

Every tomato plant except for one has a companion basil plant in the container with it. The only one without a basil plant is my pink potato leak brandywine, but I am thinking of adding basil to it as well, which is still possible as it is my youngest and smallest plant. I found the hornworm on my black krim tomato. Problem is that the tomato plant is about 6, 6.5 feet tall while the basil might be 2.5 feet. The hornworm was pretty high up in the branches. I have baby mantids that have already hatched, only about a 1/2 long know but they are in my garden. Got 1,500 ladybugs on the way which supposedly eat horn worm eggs.

I did some searching on here and read where someone said they had heard with a blacklight at night the hornworms "glow." Worth a shot, and plus I really wanted a uv flashlight as soon as I found out they existed. So I am going to try a night time hunt for them when the uv flashlights come in on Wednesday.
 
Hornworms are easy to spot. Just look anywhere where half your plant is gone. Scissors, quick & effective.
 
hahah I actually like the horn. I found one last year a small one and dropped it in my captured black widow's web. It put up a good fight for almost an hour until it just got too week and found itself in an early cacoon of death!
 
hahah I actually like the horn. I found one last year a small one and dropped it in my captured black widow's web. It put up a good fight for almost an hour until it just got too week and found itself in an early cacoon of death!

Second to maybe a honey badger, that has to be the worst pet idea I've ever heard. Puts a whole new level to the phrase "I forgot to close its cage."
 
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