Appears to be on the move north, cant id. number in hundreds; tiny unafraid worm. voracious. tomato destroyer. can anyone id plz?
bug guys missing- critter alert
2nd pic looks to be tent caterpillars
This message was edited May 29, 2013 1:53 AM
Do tent cats have a red mouth?
Take a closer/clearer picture...the body colour looks right, however Texas may have other worms that look similar. I wasn't sure if the red was body waste or.....
Did you see white webby tents in bushes/trees nearby?
We absolutely have tent worms...especially when we have rain!...
I also believe they are called bagworms? Really destructive. When my Dad would find the webs in the trees he would take a long stick and put a cloth on the end and set them on fire. That way he could control what he burnt.
No bagworms webs. that red is their mouth- saw a youtube exact ones. burn bagworms at nite- when they are home. Wrong stripes for tent cats- and they are ONLY on maters! So far, prob new hatched...
I would put a little vinegar, a drop of dishsoap, and a bit of water in my hose end sprayer. Not necessary to ID, just seek and destroy!
Especially at night when bees not active.
Umm vinegar? Too hard on my plant. soap yes. I am not sure what my dau is doin other than swuishin cats, i wont be home for 2 more weeks.
They look like Southern Army Worms. You can read about them here:
http://beauregardparishcountrylife.wordpress.com/2013/03/20/southern-army-worms-spodoptera-eridania/
Try Peppermint oil mixed with soap and water... most pests HATE peppermint oil and it wont harm your tomatoes or any other plant for that matter. I would also ck the plants near by, like roses or bushes. They may not be on any other veggies but they might be coming from another type of plant or bush.
Let us know
Good luck.
Angel
This message was edited May 30, 2013 2:59 PM
Just the maters. They arent army worms. guys youtube for tomato sphinx moths- there are more than one kind...
The only larva I've seen for sphinx moths don't come in droves. Those look like army worms, at least that's what we call them. It's the only cat I know of that comes in that # at 1 time. If you found different info, then you have solved the mystery. The treatment is the same. I've had them on Sunflowers one year. They covered and killed the plants in a few days. I'm thankful they never returned,
I agree no vinegar. On one thread it's an herbicide and on another an insecticide now that's confusing.
The link to the southern army worms look like your picture even the red head.
This message was edited May 30, 2013 9:53 PM
I throw vinegar at a lot of things, doesn't make me an expert, just a person with a lot of vinegar. I'll have to go buy the peppermint oil.
(my vinegar is grocery store strength, not herbicide strength btw, and I mainly use it as a disinfectant)
I say not insecticide as no critters survive to eat the bugs. :)
Sphinx moths are absolutely beautiful and love to pollinate night blooming Jasmine and lantana :) we have these ones http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.lakesidenaturecenter.org/images/AC_Sphinx%2520moth%2520from%2520MDC.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.lakesidenaturecenter.org/AC_Sphinx%2520Moth.html&h=295&w=316&sz=42&tbnid=gstc4UfwrOk0MM:&tbnh=95&tbnw=102&zoom=1&usg=__YvRrOwuInXmxNU70KWhB_uPspUk=&docid=rhSWqQhtlbekZM&sa=X&ei=2xKoUfWbF_KD0QHmr4GwCg&ved=0CEEQ9QEwAg&dur=778
I was joking around. It has been mentioned a lot lately as an herbicide. Don't take me seriously nobody else does.
When there are that many cats and I won't be able to harvest any of my labor I will do what needs to be done. These critters are eating her plants. If you time it right and don't do a mass application insecticide can be useful. Army worms feed mostly during the day. Bt is lethal to cats not insects.
There was a woman in Mike's Garden Center buying "herbicide strength" vinegar when I picked up a few vegetable plants yesterday, so I am quite sure you can be right, it might kill the plants..
I have been running so fast and so hard with work, I don't do much research. I don't use BT (although I have it) because I have so many monarch and swallowtail caterpillars due to my wildflower collection, and they adore eating my grapevines. I beat back my aphids by moving the bee tree away and squishing the few that were left. Real high tech pest control. On the run. No mixing involved. 2 jars of beneficial nematodes in my fridge. I'm down to 2 beehives, and the carpenter and other ants are chasing them, now if I only had time to apply the nematodes, maybe sunday.
Squishing has always worked for me and many times it makes me feel much better too. Good for the mind as well as the garden.
Vinegar commercial strength kills plants. i prefer a soap as it causes a stickiness that makes poisons stick. Vinegar is an acid-thatt cuts soap and destroys it. .I can imagine the acidity might be hard on bug life, dont know how high a mortality rate would be. agreed the droves remind me of army worms- thats as closeup as we could get of these tiny cats...Let me compare...
Those look like army worms to me too. They will eat anything, so you can throw them into a thicket you want cleared. LOL!
That would just be feeding them! Havent heard anything in a week. My fault I stuck that mater in a butterfly garden- or was it planting fern leaf dill in my veggie garden? Update tomoro I hope! I would like to know too. THINK I am goin to dig the mater up and isolate it in its own spot.
Why were you so sure they weren't army worms?
The army worms we typically have arent that tiny. They have the 'skin'' smooth, , no stripes, and there is a pic showing 2 of mine munchin a mater on you tube- They arent on any other plant around. The American beauty bushes do appear to draw some sort of bug, dunno what yet. There havent been any more show up- they seem to have been pretty much squished out in last 3 days. I still am not convinced totally- just not home to chase it to a conclusion.
Maybe these army worms aren't full grown. It's more their behavior that makes me think army worm but they look like them also.
They do look like em- with a few exceptions. We had another 4 legged bug pass by the garden and left me one plant at least...
There are different types of Army worms. I just remember my sunflower was a swarming mass it was really bad I'd never seen anything like it. I don't understand the last sentence in your last post.
I did, but I have never seen a 4 legged bug. 6 legs, 8 legs, 4 legs - did a dog get in and tear up the plants?
Thats what I meant the leg count for bugs was off but a have seen 4 legged pests. Lol. 6 legged bugs and 8 legs on arachnids.
How's your garden going Gypsi?
My garden is struggling to get in. Most of the tomatoes and some of the peppers were in the ground by Mother's Day. then back to work I went, and at least that stuff has lived, and the greenhouse stuff hasn't died. Hope to get the compost and bone meal and stuff worked in and plant the rest tomorrow. June 2nd, lol. We have such a phenomenally long summer, and with the April drought and late freezes, no telling what it will do. My fridge is full of seed packets that didn't get started yet, but I'll plant what I can and hope for the best. Found a volunteer watermelon this evening, figure it will be a charleston gray, its in that part of the garden. Flower beds are gorgeous though. I lost 3 beehives, time spent fighting with them wasn't spent planting either. 2 hives left, wish me luck.
4 legged 'dear' sampled the tops off the lettuce earlier this spring as well as these serrano peppers. Vinegar is an acid. A little bit occasionally supplies a bit of balance to alkalinity in the soil maybe to help uptake
Nutrients... remember this from somewhere.
My soil is probably alkaline. when they put in the sewer line they dug up chunks and chunks of limestone. compost is acidic too, if it's oak leaves? Going to the garden, gorgeous weather.
I DO know- irregardless of army worm or sphinx moth- its still a moth and thats MY garden. Wanted DEAD poster - Reward offered, my veggies allowed to feed ME.
If it is a caterpillar, and they obviously are.
BT spray - thuricide????? feed store has it, my garage shelf has it. I'm rat-killing this morning. Got to bathe the dogs before I get to go to the garden
Dont be slo- they are spotted in New Orleans as well.