Nature can be so weird at times

[ChanellG]

My mom has been battling tomato horn worms. A few days ago I sent her an email that said if you see one with white things on it's back leave it alone - this is the result of a wasp using the worm as an incubator of sorts.

Well, she sent me back an email with the subject "wasps r our friends" that had three kind of creepy photos of a worm that the wasps had gotten to.

 

[taskeinc]

That is very weird looking but as Nature would have it, it definitely has a purpose. When you first mentioned, "white on the back of leaves" I thought you might be talking about Mealy Bugs, which, as I'm sure you know, can destroy a plant.But that's certainly not Mealy Bugs, I've not seen anything like this, and you're right, "Nature can be weird", but oh so BEAUTIFUL ..

 

[Babble64]

LOL...I can't help but think they look like Tic Tacs hanging there! So....what happens to the tomato worm in this process?

Funny story about tomato worms. My brother and sister-in-law live next door. Several years ago, when the kids were little I noticed my niece in the adjoining yard, screaming and jumping around as her Mom wriggled on the ground. All I could think was that my sister-in-law had gotten into a hornet's nest or something and was trying to scrape the boogers off. Well, as it turns out she was plucking tomato worms off her plants with a pair of tongues (didn't want to touch them with her hands) and one of them popped and the goo got on her....and it weirded my niece out. LOL. Silly story but it still makes me laugh.

 

[ChanellG]

Task, it was white stuff on the back of the worm, not the leaves.

Babble, I think it paralyzes the worm ultimately.I'll have to look for that link again as I can't remember all the details. About your story, why was your sister-in-law wriggling on the ground?

 

[zigs]

Wow! AlienTic Tac Monsters

I was in a Hot House at RHS Wisley once when I saw something huge, colourful and Wriggly disappear up my sleeve.

I didn't care that the place was full of elderly visitors, I was down to my pants in seconds, shaking my clothes out.

Never did find the thing again though.

 

[ChanellG]

ROFLOL! That must have been quite a sight for those elderly visitors! I may have had to do the same thing in that situation; no one wants something crawling on them that might potentially bite, sting or even worse, lay eggs under your skin, ugh!

Found the info and link I sent to my mom:

If you find a hornworm with rows of what look like rice grains growing out of its back, leave it alone. It has been attacked by a parasitic wasp that will eventually kill the caterpillar and multiply, providing more pest protection next year!

http://www.urbanfarmonline.com/urban-gardening/backyard-gardening/tomato-plant-pests.aspx

 

[claudine]

Yuck . This is what I hate about the nature: it's so extremely cruel sometimes and there is absolutely nothing that could be done about it. It really pains me to look at all of these animals and insects killing each other in order to survive. I hate horn worms, I'm scared of them but I don't want them to die in such an awful way

 

[zigs]

Claudine, don't watch the Film "Alien"

 

[Babble64]

ChanellG....leave it to me to leave out part of a story! LOL! When she grabbed the worm with her tongues she squeezed it too tight...and it POPPED all over her! She was rubbing her arm all over the grass trying to get the worm goo off of her.

Okay, that would be TONGS...she didn't use her mouth! Eww!!

 

[veg11]

Claudine, don't watch the Film "Alien"

Hahahahahahahah!!

 

[ChanellG]

ChanellG....She was rubbing her arm all over the grass trying to get the worm goo off of her.

Now it makes sense, lol! Good thing she didn't get it on her tongue! She would have been traumatized for life (understandably so). My mom just wears gloves to remove the worms from her tomatoes.

Last week I gave some to an artist acquaintance for her turtles and she sent me a photo, unfortunately...

 

[claudine]

Claudine, don't watch the Film "Alien"

I won't . But I believe that the nature can be scarier and crueler than any movie. At least when you watch a movie you know that it's fake and no one really suffers.
Even if it's only a nasty hornworm, I still feel sorry for it.

 

[zigs]

I know

The cruel bit in Alien was that they didn't tell the other Actors what was going to burst out of John Hurt's chest, just to get a genuine look of horror on their faces

 

[ChanellG]

Film directors are such special people, lol.

 

[limcid]

I believe the wasp larva wake up to some nice tomato worm soup. Poor worms.