Hi Flying
Looks like you have a nasty monster there, ive done some searching and it looks like you have this ...
Tomato Hornworm Attack!
August 13, 2007 - 12:25pm
P.L. Diggs in Southern Maryland writes that "big fat green caterpillars" are chewing up his three heirloom tomato plants. Says he's hand-picking the pests off his plants daily, but wonders if there's a non-chemical solution that can be used to deter them: "Perhaps a concoction I can make up? Or even better, buy across the counter?"
Absolutely, P.L.! These fearsome-looking tomato hornworms are some of the biggest caterpillars around, but they blend in with the foliage so perfectly, they can be hard to spot-and they eat a lot. Luckily, the organic control BTK (often just called 'Bt', which is short for its scientific name, Bacillus Thuringensis) will kill any caterpillar that eats the sprayed leaves. And Bt affects only caterpillars; it harms nothing else (not even butterflies, because no butterfly caterpillar eats things like tomato leaves).
Look for the brand names Dipel and Thuricide at garden centers; or order "Green Step" from Gardens Alive. Oh, and when you're handpicking, spare any monsters with what looks like grains of rice on their backs. Those are the egg cases of a parasitic wasp that preys on pest caterpillars. Take any 'spiny' caterpillars off the plants and put them elsewhere in the garden; they'll soon die, and lots more helpful wasps will be born.
Hippy
