The tomato Moth is an adult five-spotted hawkmoth in the Sphingidae family and the Genus Manduca. Tomato Moths are giant insects with wingspan of up to 5 inches. Tomato moths are caterpillars that are called Tomato hornworms. Their primary host remains the tomato plants, while they infest many plants in the Solanaceae family in the absence of the specific host. Tomato Moths feed on the leaves and the upper foliage of the plants and leave black droppings on the surface of the leaves. They also feed on tomato fruits, and their damage is more than all of the younger stages that feed on the foliage. They increase the defoliation rates and cause significant production loss to tomato growers.
Tomato Hornworm is native to Australia and North America. Tomato hornworms are considerable tomato defoliators for their giant size. The tomato hornworms are more frequent in the northern United States, and their occurrence decrease in the southern US, especially the Gulf Coast areas. They may be found on all commercial and garden tomatoes besides tobacco, eggplants, and potatoes in most states in Northern US.
The Tomato moth eggs are spherical to an oval that could have a 1.5 mm diameter with the color variation between pale green to white. The eggs may be found on the upper surfaces of the leaves. An adult larva is cylindrical with five pairs of prolegs and three pairs of thoracic legs. The most distinctive feature of the moth is a black horn located on the terminal segment. The tomato moth contains eight V-shaped, white, or yellowish marks towards the anterior body. The Tomato moths pass through five, and sometimes six instars to become an adult, and their average body length remains about 81 mm in the last instar after completing the larval development in 21 days.
Tomato moth overwinters as a pupa in the soil under organic litter and plants debris. Adult moths appear in the spring. They can be noticed at dusk hovering over the flowering plant where they suck nectar. A female moth is judged from the five pairs of orange abdominal spots. Female moth deposits yellowish-green eggs on the undersides of the leaves of the host plant. Egg hatching takes another 7-days, and a moth appears that passes through 5 or 6 instars to become an adult in about 21 days. However, the larval development could take longer under low temperature, and moths would develop in 28 days that will be ready to pupate again. Most of the US climate allows them to produce only two generations per year. The maximum number of generations per year could be three.
The larva of all stages are robust defoliators, and they often feed on the foliage including, younger leaves, tender shoots, and the floral parts of a tomato plant. Sometimes, they eat up the entire leaf, and their body size allows them to eat many leaves per day and cause significant defoliation. As the larvae grow from 1st instar to 5th instar, defoliation increases. Almost 90% of the foliage eating happens during the last instar. Since the larvae resemble the foliage, moths' presence is sometimes neglected, making them an army causing significant damage towards the end of larval development. The damages are more prevalent in the areas where excessive insecticidal activities peak as they have either killed their natural enemies or the pest got resistant against insecticides in use. However, in the regions that focus on organic farming, tomato moths can't be troublesome.
Tomato moths come from the eggs that usually hatch at 81°F that were laid by the adult moths under plant debris and weed covers. Whenever your garden temperature reaches the optimum temperature, look for Tomato moths on the undersides of the leaves and new growth in spring. A pupa overwinters in the top 3 inches of the garden soil whereas, egg-laying occurs in summer. Early detection of Tomato moths means an early warning for controlling them. So, early detection in the spring and preventing them eggs in summer could potentially reduce their infestation. Once, moths are inside the soil for pupation they could appear again with an increased population.
Besides following the preventive measures if, Tomato Moths infestation goes beyond your control, here are the most authentic ways to keep their population suppressed using the biological, organic, and chemical methodologies;
Green Lacewing is from an exceptional class of predatory insects that work competently against the crawlers and chewing insects that harm the foliage of your garden plants. Chrysoperla rufilabris feed on the tomato hornworm eggs and young larvae when applied at the start of the spring. Green Lacewing can also release in combination with Trichogramma, Praying Mantis, and Ladybug species, and they don't harm each other instead, they offer a pest-free environment in any garden. 1000-Green Lacewings are enough for 500 square feet when released in the greenhouse, and they could cover up to 2500 square feet when released in the garden.
Their eggs hatch in around 4 to 5 days, and that remains the best time to release them. The best application time is the start of spring.
Lady Bird Beetles feed on many slow-moving pests such as the crawling insects like loopers, caterpillars, and larvae of many pest species. The ladybugs are highly effective against tomato moths during the initial instars, and the live bugs can also feed on their eggs. However, they are unable to feed flying insects including, whiteflies, jassids, and fruit flies. Whenever live bugs are released in the garden, ladybirds lay eggs on the surfaces of the leaves. The eggs hatch and, the beetle larva become ready to feed on young larvae of the crawlers within 7-days.
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Release them in the garden after washing the surfaces of the leaves with splashing water. Almost 1500-live bugs can effectively control pests of all categories in 1000 square feet area.
Thuricide-BT consists of 98.35% of viable spores of Bacillus thuringiensis with Kurstaki strain, whereas each milligram of concentrate possesses about 6 million active spores that can produce cry proteins. Cry proteins are active toxins that stick to the mid-gut of many foliage-feeding larvae and rupture them leading them to die. BT is a soil-dwelling, gram-positive bacterium that exists naturally on plant surfaces, stored cereal grains, and on the bodies of decaying insects. It also parasitizes tomato and tobacco moths and many other pest species that live on the foliage of the plants. Bacillus thuringiensis is used in the making of GMO crops such as BT cotton, and BT corn that contains the cry protein. Thuricide is OMRI listed product that can be used on many edible plants, including vegetables, fruits, microgreens, and flowers.
Add 4-teaspoons of the product concentrate per gallon of water. Apply thoroughly on the foliage of the plants that contain tomato moths.
Captain Jack’s Dead Bug contains Spinosad which has a different mode of action for killing many species of pests including, tomato and tobacco hornworms. The product derived from Saccharopolyspora Spinosa (a bacterium) and its insecticidal properties were first studied in 1985 when the researchers obtained it after fermenting sugarcane rum. Spinosyns occur in more than 20 natural forms which is a mix of Spinosyn A and D., A is the major component and the ratio between Spinosyn A & B remains 17:3. Captain Jack’s Dead Bug is OMRI listed product and recommended in organic gardening worldwide.
Add 2 ounces of the product per gallon of water and apply to the foliage of the plants using a mist sprayer.
Compare-N-Save Concentrate is 7.9% Bifenthrin which is a residual, systemic insecticide, and authority for controlling tomato and tobacco moth eggs, larvae, and adults that feed on the foliage of the edible plants. However, the residues could stay up to 90 days in the environment and the soil. Only one application could kill the adults within 24 to 72 hours, even if the surface temperatures are high.
This product is highly concentrated, and only 5 to 6 ml of the product is recommended to mix per gallon of water for the safety of gardeners and the environment. Read the product label carefully and follow the instruction listed there.
Check out our other guides on common garden bugs.
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