Bad Caterpillar!!

Looked out my door and saw my double purple datura..almost leafless.
When I went out and got the pot I found the culprit...cute little fella.
My grandson wanted to keep it for a pet but his dad convinced him it needed to go about its business.

Here is the entire picture.

This is a TOMATO HORNWORM caterpillar.
Tomatoes, eggplants and daturas are hosting plants for this caterpillar, which soon will be a huge beautiful moth.
It can get really large ... you will need to choose: either you want a datura or a beautiful moth.

Learn something every day on DG, i did not know they ate daturas.

Datura is in the some family of eggplant.
Here is my Tomato Hornworm called: Tommaso !!!
Helloooooooo

I have reduced the problem with Hornworms this year a lot by sprinkling a little of DE on the hole where I plant my tomatoes and eggplants. The Hornworms must not like the taste of the DE.

this is going to sound weird, but it sort of bothered me. i did not have even one hornworm on my tomatoes last summer. never happened before. i dont use any kind of pesticides and have never had this happen. seems like there is always a hornworm or two with tomato plants.

LOL well perhaps they just decided to become carnivores! I hate the hornworms but love the nightly moth visits. I have a few every year and have no idea why you weren't gifted with some this year.
C

I did not see a single tomato worm last year either. Of course, my vegetable garden was so neglected, I could barely see anything out there! Seriously, I think it's the first time in 20 years of living here that we have had zero. I can't say that I miss the ugly buggers. I pick them off with a pair of tongs and feed them to the chickens - can't stand to touch them. I've never had them on a datura.