tomato hornworm

[cmason]

Has anyone attempted to raise a tomato hornworm. I know that you have to feed it tomato leaves ,have 3 inches of dirt in the cage and have it go through a cold period. I live in WI and I'm not sure if an unheated garage is ok for the diuration of the winter.
Chris Mason
Lake Geneva, WI

[Mona Miller]

You can also use peat moss. They eat tobacco, too. Even ornamental tobacco. They will burrow into the ground near tomatoes. They will use a paper towel, if you don't have dirt. Keep an eye on them. Garages sometimes get hotter than you would think because they aren't outside.

[applestar]

We tried raising TOBACCO hornworms -- I had an unusually heavy infestation in the tomatoes and hot peppers (yes they eat those too) this year, finding 3 pre-braconid infested caterpillars and 3 others that we tried bringing inside to try to raise. Each time, within a few days of being brought inside, they erupted with braconid wasp larvae that pupated on their backs and had to be put back outside (I wanted the braconid wasps to patrol the garden for others -- sounds contradictory, I know ).

4th time was the charm. I found this one quite fat and content in my hot pepper bed. I fed him grape tomato prunings -- including green tomatoes -- in a quart size deli cup lined with 4 sheets of paper towels. When this one burrowed below the paper towels and started shredding them, I knew something was up. We now have a great view of the curly tailed pupa at the bottom of the deli container.

[Mona Miller]

They call that pupa, the little brown jug because it has a hook on the end.