A little while back a reader sent us a photo of a green caterpillar in his garden. He’s found several of the green caterpillars as of late, and he was seeking more information about them. The reader has already done some research and indicated that he thought he found “tomato worms” (based on other information, we can confidently assume he meant “tomato hornworms”, which are actually caterpillars), in large part because the creatures were on his tomato plant. He was most puzzled about the webs they seemed to be spinning for themselves, and he also wondered if the “worms,” once enmeshed in a web, had died. What are these green caterpillars, if they even are caterpillars, and what’s the deal with the webs they are creating?

If tomato hornworms are in your garden, chances are, they love what you’re growing. The tomato hornworm loves dill, potatoes, eggplant, peppers, and of course, tomatoes.

Adult tomato horned worms are typically 3 to 5 inches long and they have a large black horn on their rear ends. This horn may look like it can do plenty of damage, but its actually quite harmless.