Caught in the act!

Novice Gardener Files

Case #001

Name: Tomato Horn Worm

Known Alias: Hawkmoth

Culprit description: Green, 4" in length, five sets of "feet," small "red eye" markings, and a squishy body texture

Charge: Tomato thievery (Oh, the shame!)

Verdict: Guilty

Sentence: *Due to the graphic nature of the culprit's sentencing, this portion has been edited out for your stomache's sake.

Today I found the culprit that has been annihilating my tomato plant. Yesterday I noticed that my plant was looking a little sick and that half of my largeest tomato had disappeared as well as small chunks off of my smaller tomatoes (along with the Baby Toes I was growing...but that's a case for another day). I wasn't quite sure who/what the culprit was and I took some preventative measures to insure that this would not happen again. However, today I discovered that more of the tomatoes had been feindishly struck down in the same manner! Apparently, it was time for extreme measures - a stakeout and swift/harsh punishment to the vandal. It didn't take long to locate the tomato horn worm (though I have to admit that he had done a great job of camouflaging himself), a positive identification was made with the help of our neighbors, and the worm was convicted in swift order. In the future, I'll have to be more vigilant against the sneak attacks of the tomato horn worm, but it was a lesson learned. I guess its all in a day's work for this novice gardener...