Hi there! I need to find out what did this before it strikes again. On my orange cherry tomato plant I found these hollowed out but no culprit in sight. It only seems to have been on the one 'bunch' of that particular plant but I don't know for sure and I'd really like to know what it is. If anybody can please help that would be wonderful! Thanks!
Nope, no slime. I think it's too dry right now here in Wisconsin for those. I took one of the tomatoes to work with me to see if I could get an answer. First it was suggested that mice were involved. I'm ruling that out because they would probably eat the entire thing and probably go for the bigger ones. Plus these don't look like something a mouse would do. Then they said it's probably a grub of some sort which was what I suspected but I'm trying to find out exactly what it is so I'm about to take a flashlight out and search. Wish me luck :)
Go out at night with a flashlight. I bet you'll find the culprit and it'll likely be a cutworm or similar Lepidoptera.
I did go out there last night but saw nothing. Nothing new has been eaten as of today. Maybe they were just passing through. I looked up some images of cutworms and I guess I better take a closer look in case it's green and blending in.
Tomatoes hornworms blend in even better than cutworm. http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/veg/insect_ID_pics/CH6_Tomatoes/hornworm _damage.jpg http://www.howtogardenadvice.com/challenges/tomato_worms_hornworms.html Here's one I hadn't seen til today! http://agdev.anr.udel.edu/weeklycropupdate/?p=622
Geez I better take a really close look! What do I do if I find them? Thank you for the information btw. Very helpful.
I'll bet your right saltcedar! I forgot all about those buggers. Kimberly - they can be tiny, under an inch or up to 3 inches. And they blend in very well. Check for frass (poop).
I sat outside and checked all the plants thoroughly for any signs of intruders. I found nothing and no more tomatoes have been eaten. I'm crossing my fingers it was a one time assault. Thank you very much for the help. Now I know what I am looking for at least. I will do an evening search with a flashlight later tonight.
Another caterpillar that enjoys eating green tomatoes is the corn ear-worm. http://stonethegardener.tumblr.com/post/25922241041/corn-worm I'm pretty sure that your damage is not the tomato horn-worm (manduca sp.) they eat a lot of foliage.
I'm very pleased because I think I got lucky. It's been over a week since there has been any damage. I still check regularly though, just in case.
