08/13/2026
Andy, my husband, found these two Tomato Hornworm caterpillars in our garden today. They are covered with white silky-like cocoons of the Braconid Wasp. The wasp larvae hatched from eggs injected inside the caterpillars and fed on the Tomato Hornworm, then exited the caterpillar to spin their cocoons. The Tomato Hornworm will die and these white cocoons will produce a LOT of Braconid Wasps which will then fly around other tomato plants in search of Tomato Hornworms to lay their eggs on (well actually, in not on).
Tomato Hornworms are parasitoids (not parasites), meaning they kill their host in order for them to survive (consuming the insides of the caterpillar as their food source).
