Skip to Content
sitenum=63
Happenings in the insect world
Comments:
by Patti Sue Ogletree
on September 1, 2021 at 8:43 PM
Hi.  
Thanks for writing about this beautiful moth.  
 
I am on a mission to save this creature because it is a natural and important part of our ecology.  
I never kill the hornworms, I have planted datura in my yard as a host plant for them and it is working beautifully.  
I'm aware that the datura can be invasive, so I keep it deadheaded so that I don't get seeds.  
Currently I have 3 giant hornworms munching away at the datura. When they're done and burrow down, the plant then recovers.  
I even rescue them from friends gardens.  
I love it when the sphinx moth visits the flowers in the twilight.  
They need better press. Most articles tell gardeners how to destroy them .  
It is very disappointing and unfortunate.  
Save the Sphinx moth!
by jL
on May 22, 2023 at 5:51 AM
Ha, ha, that's funny. It is a cool bug, but if you want to grow tomatoes, you don't want too many around. Squish the caterpillars when you see them!
by PMR
on September 24, 2023 at 7:58 PM
Why not grow enough plants for both...some for you and some for the bugs?  
 
We need some bugs.  
 
I've ceded ownership of a tomato plant to our moth friends, have done this several times, and along the way have found a few varieties of tomato plants that are aphid resistant.  
 
But the worms do resemble "monsters"-- that's true.  
 
Nature is what it is. If they can decipher it, we probably look the same to them, but, really...who knows? huh? We can only guess...  
 
I've found, at my level, it's better to work "with nature" than to spend any time trying to resist it or worse yet, use chemicals to dominate it.  
 
BTW: orange spray works great to reduce pests, gotta work the soil and plants to "eliminate" them. one idea: disturb their habitat enough to the point they "move away" or at the least, have trouble multiplying  
 
Anyways...Good Luck All!
 
Leave a Reply:

You are currently not signed in. If you have an account, then sign in now!
Anonymous users messages may be delayed.
 

Security Code:
SXMGFH