There are several ways you can identify a pest caterpillar feeding on your tomatoes. The best way to control any given pest depends on exactly which pest it is, so identification is key. When you find a caterpillar on your tomatoes, your first task is to properly identify it. What to do when you find a caterpillar on a tomato plant What particular plants you find a pest caterpillar on can help you identify it. Other times, it may be a species that feeds not just on this plant family, but also on other vegetable garden favorites, like corn, beans, beets, and more. When you find a caterpillar on a tomato plant, it may be a species that only feeds on tomatoes and other members of the nightshade family (like eggplant, peppers, potatoes, tobacco, and tomatillos). ![]() Some species have multiple generations each year. If left to mature, most tomato pest caterpillars eventually drop to the ground where they burrow into the soil to pupate into adults. The eggs hatch, and over a period of several weeks, the caterpillar feeds on the plant and quickly grows. Adult moths are active from dusk to dawn, when the females lay eggs on host plants. Regardless of what you call them, the lifecycles of all tomato caterpillar pests are very similar. Some attack the fruit while others feed on the foliage. There are six different caterpillars that feed on tomatoes in North America. Still, the term worm is often used in the common names of these insects. Moth larvae (like butterfly larvae) are technically caterpillars, not worms. You’ll often hear them called “worms,” but when you find a caterpillar on a tomato plant it is not a “worm” at all, rather it is the larva of some species of moth. I’ll introduce you to 6 tomato pest caterpillars later in this article but let me start by introducing you to the basic life cycle of all of these garden pests. ![]() Some of these caterpillars eat tomato leaves, while others feed on the developing fruits. There are several different types of caterpillars that feed on tomato plants both in vegetable gardens and in containers. What kind of caterpillars eat tomato plants? In this article, you’ll meet 6 different caterpillars that feed on tomato plants and learn what you can do to control them without using synthetic chemical pesticides. Whether it’s a hole that goes straight through a ripening tomato or chewed leaves on tomato plants, tomato caterpillars disrupt harvests and gross out even the most unshakable gardeners. If you’ve ever come across a caterpillar on a tomato plant, you know the trouble they can cause.
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