The summer garden is in full swing, lovelier every day. I am a big fan of annuals or tender perennials and shrubs, especially those that have night fragrance. Hand in hand with this type of garden are the night moths, swooping and sipping nectar, drawn by the fragrance and food for their young. One of their favorites is the flowering tobacco plants or nicotiana. It's a source of food for the tomato hornworm larvae and a nectar source for the adult hornworm or sphinx moth. Since the flowering tobacco has been volunteering itself in my raised beds, there is no soil disturbance and the hornworms are able to survive as pupae in the stable soil. We do have tomatoes in the ground, but the tiller turns the soil where they grow, killing any pupae that would normally survive the winter. Bottom line, I have lots and lots of tomato hornworms in various stages of growth and they bother me nary a bit. In fact, I'm happy to have them just so I can enjoy the sphinx moth.

For most people and any tomato farmer, the tomato hornworm is a pest. They do have a tremendous appetite, making quick work of tomato plants and the occasional potato; other members of the Solanaceae family. The proper name for this pest is Manduca quinquemaculata, the name means; I chew and have five spots (which are on its belly). There are seven stripes down the sides and some breathing holes that look like black dots in between.

As large caterpillars, they can hide incredibly well. With rather bland markings, they camouflage with surrounding foliage. A sure way to know they are eating your plants is the rapid diminishing of foliage or the large droppings they leave behind. I also understand that they have a fluorescent quality to them and can be found at night with a black light or UV light. If you are set on getting rid of the tomato hornworm, I suggest you remove them from your plant and simply lay each one in an open space. Birds will make quick work of them and I believe each one might feed an entire family. It's also not unusual to find a caterpillar with little cocoons on their back. These are non-stinging parasitoid wasps, they lay the eggs on a live hornworm and the young feed, killing the hornworm in a "not so nice" way, from the inside out. A gardener's advice - always leave these parasitized caterpillars be because they will release beneficial wasps.

If the tomato hornworm survives, post parasitic wasp and human intervention, you have the adult Sphinx or hawk moth. The wingspan can be five inches and they maneuver with amazing agility, seeking nectar as night descends. The whirring of wings is like a hummingbird, you always know when they are near. There may be two broods in one summer and it does seem that there are more and more as we move into August and September. I am amazed at their constant movement as adults, clearly, their appetite is tremendous as I never see them sit to rest for a minute (or second). The elongated proboscis can locate nectar in each flower and they hover as they drink, but only for a millisecond. The entertainment is the reason I find them so desirous, to sit in the garden and watch plants sway only to catch a glimpse of a sphinx moth speeding by, is my evening fun. I have overheard people talk about how lovely the adult moth looks, but in truth, they are about as bland as the caterpillar, unless you find the green or pink species, a rare sight indeed.