Guess what he (she?) ate to get this size?
Jalapeno. The entire plant. See that nekkid stalk in the background? All that’s left.
I’ve been going around bragging how the birds were keeping my tomatoes hornworm-free this year. I didn’t even know they ate jalapeno plants.
Maybe it’s some sort of adaptation–“Hey, if I’m hot enough, the birds will leave me alone!”
Worked for the hens. They just stared.
This is gonna give me nightmares. And indigestion.
Oh, that should have had a warning. A close-up of one of those monsters? I do literally have nightmares about those icky tomato worms. Usually they’re person sized and chasing me. But sometimes I just accidentally touch one and that makes me wake up in a heart-pounding sweat. I’m not joking, I’m scared of them. Now that I know they come in atomic, I’m really frightened. 🙂
Holy moley! I’ve had a few, but none that size. I wouldn’t eat it either if I was one of the chickens! ‘Atomic’, ha!
I think they are really neat looking though. Too bad they’re not one of the good guys.
Wow! Isn’t he a beaut! I had no idea they would eat other stuff! About ten years ago we had some wild rabbits that raised their family in our backyard. They loved our garden! I grew some small chili peppers thinking this is one thing they won’t eat. HA! As soon as the peppers matured, they started cleaning ’em right off. I felt so guilty for planting something hot, I had to put them a bowl of water out. ..
looooove the picture of the chickens staring at the worm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Chickens area sooooooooooo cute!!!!!!!!
Love yoru blog!
😎
I’m going to have nightmares, too, thanks to that photo!! I hate those ugly bugs!!
Very sorry about your jalapeno’s but what a great photo…and they do turn into lovely moths…trouble is they then lay more eggs.. 🙁 I have (fortunately) only come across them once in my neck of the woods!!
Cut them in half.
Am I really in the minority thinking these guys are cute? I “rescue” them to a weed patch down the road a bit, but I’ve only ever seen a few around here.
I DO NOT like these guys! They like to eat my moonflower plant leaves.
Ugh! Those worms are the worst part of growing veggies. The first time I saw one, I think I was 12. It was the size of my first finger and inches from my face! I screamed and ran from the garden and wouldn’t take care of the tomatoes anymore.
wow that is one big buggy!
time to take him fishing and see if the fish can taste
EWWWW
i have not seen any hornworms in the tomatoes. i wonder if this is because i let the girls roam around; they certainly get their share of slugs and cutworms, although they do turn up their beaks at giant slugs.
The splat they make on the concrete is very satisfying.
I’m in AZ and tried my hand at jalapenos last year. I had those suckers all over my plants bigger than that 3″ monster and thick as sausages! They were SO GROSS! I love jalapenos but am not sure if I even want to deal with those again. They really creep me out.
Bethany–Sorry! You’re right, I should have warned you. I’m the same way about snakes.
Emily–They have an appeal for some. A friend says they look like something out of “Men in Black”.
Amy–You softy, putting out water for the rabbits! Aww.
acv2–They had no idea what to do with that monstrosity. Just gawked. And thank you!
Michelle–I know. Bwaahaha! It’s those little grabby “hands” that get to me. Ewww!
tanya walton–I’ve never noticed the moths, but they must be large.
Jennifer Krieger–Eww! You do it while I turn my back. Eww!
Kat–I want you on my jury.
Pheba Watson–Oh, no! I love moonflowers. So romantic . . .
Red Icculus–OK, you and Jennifer can take turns.
Jan–Lovely story. Makes me want to go fishing!
mamma3monkeys–Naughty! I would never do something like that! ; )
Beegirl–It’s probably a delicacy in some cultures. Don’t want to dwell on that, though.
Abby–Bigger? Yikes!
Tabbymom Jen–I don’t blame you. Run!
Oh my stars! His a big one!! Spicy too…
I just stumbled upon your blog and its fun! I used to just gingerly grab them and throw them into my neighbors yard. That was when I was much much younger of course. I would NEVER do that now a days…
When my brother and I were kids, mom and dad used to make us go pick those nasty worms off all the tomato plants in the garden. Then after doing our chores, we could run across the pasture and go fishing in the large pond farm. We loved fishing and often had fresh fried fish for supper on those evenings. One day we got the bright idea to use those tomato worms as fish bait. Wow! We couldn’t drag in the catfish fast enough! From that point on, no one had to tell us to “de-worm” the tomato plants. Those worms make excellent fish bait. To this day, at 55 years old, I still love fishing and if I find those critters in my garden….its a good excuse to go fishing.
You mean that won’t turn into a butterfly?
Hi ashley! It’s a moth. Here’s a picture:
http://www.enature.com/flashcard/show_flash_card.asp?recordNumber=BU0111
it’s so long
Now here’s a girl who’s got it right.
Scroll toward the bottom of the post.
http://foothillhomecompanion.blogspot.com/2009/09/final-count.html
Oh, and if it’s faux-pas to link to someone else’s blog, please let me know! I mean no bad, only to share what others might find interesting!
love to you all~
Kat