Photo by Catherine C. Galley on iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · specimen identified as Manduca quinquemaculatus
PestActive now (September)
Tomato hornworm
Manduca quinquemaculata
- When
- Jun–Sep — June, July, August, September. Earlier in the south, later in the north.
- Where to look
- Tomatoes, peppers and potatoes — find them by the dark pellets of frass on leaves below.
- How to know it
- A very large green caterpillar with white chevrons and a stiff horn at the rear. It hides in plain sight.
- What it does — and what to do
- Hand-pick — but if it wears white cocoons, leave it: parasitic wasps have already won. The adult is the big sphinx moth that hovers at dusk.
Found in these regions
- Boreal North & Taiga
- Boreal Forest & Shield
- Acadian Forest & Atlantic Coast
- Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Lowlands
- Northeast Atlantic Coast & Piedmont
- Appalachian Highlands
- Central Hardwoods & Interior Plateaus
- Southeastern Piedmont & Coastal Plain
- Gulf Coast & Mississippi Lowlands
- Florida Peninsula
- Prairies & Great Plains
- Western Mountains & Interior Plateaus
- Pacific Maritime
- Mediterranean California
- Deserts & Dry Basins
- Hawaiʻi & the Tropics
Is it active near you?
Get this week's guide for your area
Enter a town, postal code or ZIP and we'll tell you what's happening right there this week — from your local climate, this week's weather and your ecological region.
Also active in September
PollinatorMay–OctMonarch butterfly
Danaus plexippus
Orange with heavy black veins and a white-spotted black border. The caterpillar is banded yellow, white and black.
What it does in the garden →Photo: Christine Young · CC BY 4.0
PollinatorMay–SepRuby-throated hummingbird
Archilochus colubris
Tiny, iridescent green above; the male has a black-looking throat that flares ruby in the right light.
What it does in the garden →
BeneficialJul–OctPraying mantis
Mantidae
Long green or brown body, triangular head that swivels, and folded raptorial front legs.
What it does in the garden →