Beneficials in the Garden

Upon first inspection of this photo, you might be wondering if I’ve lost my mind. The tomato hornworm is not a beneficial in your garden. They can do extreme damage to tomato, pepper and eggplants in a matter of hours, destroying en entire plant within days. Definitely not good, especially when you’ve been salivating over that gorgeous ruby colored Roma.

So generally speaking, my advice upon sight of missing leaves is to hunt for the hornworm, pluck, and dispatch the beast from your garden. Immediately. They camouflage well and can easily evade detection, but don’t give up. By the time they reach this fellow’s plump size, it’s likely bad news for your plant.

However, if that hornworm on your plant is sporting an array of white spikes on its back then stop. Step away from the plant, and carry on with your regular garden visit. Those white spike formations are actually cocoons for the Braconid wasp—a beneficial in the garden because it will rid your garden of not only hornworms, but a variety of pests. And it’s totally organic, courtesy of Mother Nature!

According to the Palm Beach County extension office, “The lifecycle and mechanism of control for this one is similar.  The wasp lays its eggs just under the skin of the hormworm. When larvae emerge from the eggs, they begin feeding on the insides of the still-living hormworm. When the juvenile wasps have matured, they eat through the skin of the hornworm, and spin their cocoons, after which the hornworm will die.  Adult braconid wasps will then seek out other hormworms to attack.  The difference between this braconid wasp and some others is that the host hornworm is gone here, whereas in other cases we find it still intact.

The Braconid family is made up of over 1000 species of tiny wasps that pose no threat to humans.  Insects in this family act as parasitoids to control pest insects, including a number of harmful caterpillars, aphids, and other landscape pests. These beneficial insects are another good reason to use pesticides responsibly in the landscape and to spot-treat when possible.”