These caterpillars make weird clicking sounds when you pick them up. Hornworms are bright green, can have crazy looking spots and stripes, and sport an intimidatingly large ‘stinger’ attached to their backside. They’re freakishly large, often as long and around as big as your pinky. These giant caterpillars can be found nearly everywhere in the U.S., some parts of Northern Mexico and in Southern Canada. There are two types of hornworms commonly found here in the states – the Manduca sexta, or the tobacco hornworm and the Manduca quinquemaculata, or the tomato hornworm. When it comes to garden pests, hornworms are at the top of every tomato grower’s list. These bright green caterpillars can easily strip your tomato plants down to bare stems in a matter of days. I’m convinced the real-life caterpillar that inspired this book is none other than the hornworm. If you have small children in your life, then you’ve probably read Eric Carle’s book, ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” about a million times. Hornworms are one of the most common tomato plant pests.
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