Posted on 05/29/2008 9:31:26 PM PDT by wideminded
I think you’re right Gummi Bear, it’s most likely a Tomato Hornworm. It does look just like the pictures on the site you linked, even if wideminded’s are just “little guys” in comparison to the specimen they are showing. It even has the smooth part, and then the twisted “cone” part at the end. They even mentioned that the woman sending the pictures in found them IN the ground - and the info. says they emerge from the ground as moths, lay their eggs, and do it all over again! LOL
Wideminded, do you have a garden in the area you were digging?
And, check out the picture of the caterpillar it comes from - ever seen these strange looking guys out in your yard? They are kinda spooky looking, IMHO! O.o
they might be cicada pupae. Take them to the County Agent, and he/they will identify them for you.
Democrats
Come on, the guy has a brain tumor.. lay off!
While the pupae look like pod people wannabes and the hornworms themselves are dis-gus-ting, they hatch into hummingbird moths. Too bad we can’t have the moths without the other stages! The moths are quite interesting to watch—they fly just like a hummingbird and are about half the size of a hummingbird but larger than a bumblebee. They usually come out early and late, and sometimes on cloudy days. If you see a hornworm with little rice looking grains all over it, don’t squish it. Get it off your tomatoes, certainly, but put it in the woods or something. The rice thingys are parasitic wasps that use the caterpillers for a buffet.
Mark
I saw these in a movie one time. I think it was one of the Star Trek series. One character held it up and it burrowed into the brain of the other character via his ear canal. EMERGENCY! Do not get it near your head! (^;
Actually I think these turn into June beetles.
In the very early 80’s we had an exceptionaly high Gypsy Moth invasion here in MA.
The trees and sidewalks and EVERYTHING were covered in them.
It was VERY nasty!
Out in the woods at night it would sound like it was pouring raining from the sound of millions of the little buggers munching all the leaves away.
We spent the whole Summer trying to find unique ways of killing them. My two favorites were putting a bunch of them in the engine cylinder of the lawnmower then starting the motor and the old filling a jar with the catipillars and blowing them up with firecrackers trick.
Blowtorching their nests with Hairspray napalm was always a blast!
If you tapped them the right way with your sneaker they also made nice popping noises.
I hate those things.
8-]
Moth pupae.
Cicadas?
Quid pro quo, Clarice.
That’s freeze dried Jimmy Hoffa and his bodyguard.
POD PEOPLE!
RUN! HIDE!
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