

When defoliation occurs 90% of the time, damage is usually not noticed until the final caterpillar entersstar. Here are some safe and nutritious greens that your hornworm will consume if you give them a meal. When hornworms are left out for a day, it is not a good idea to leave them out for a longer period of time. If you run out of powdered hornworm food, you can supplement your diet with more paste. Most captive-bred hornworms are raised on a commercial diet, including our Hornworm Food formula. When the eggs hatch, the caterpillars (also known as hornworms) begin to consume the plants around them. The Solanaceae (nightshade) family of plants is where the Manduca sexta moths lay their eggs. If you have hornworms in your garden, the best way to get rid of them is to handpick them off of your plants.

While they are typically a pest of crops, some people actually breed hornworms as feeder insects for reptiles and amphibians. In fact, hornworms have been known to strip entire fields of oats in a matter of days. They will consume just about any type of plant material, including oats. Hornworms are the caterpillar larvae of hawk moths, and are voracious eaters.
