About two weeks ago we found this guy on our tomato vines. Most would think this is awful, but I thought it was great. Since the vines do not produce tomatoes for some reason, the hornworms can have them. He is actually a Tobacco Horn worm, (Manduca sexta). Most people, me included, would just assume that since we found him on a tomato plant, that he was a Tobacco hornworm. However, there is a big difference. The Tobacco Hw has a red horn and white diagonal stripes. The Tomato Hw has a white horn and has white "v" shapes on his side.
We named him Chewy II because we had one earlier in the summer we named Chewy. (We sort of successfully raised him, but he couldn't fly) Anyway, we renamed Chewy II to Munchy. He had two brothers, but he ate one of them and we gave the other away to a friend. This picture was taken about two weeks ago when he was really only about an inch long. He ate and ate, (like the Hungry Caterpillar) until he was about four inches long. Then he buried up in the dirt in our little habitat and pupated. That means he made a cocoon. We can't wait for him to come out and play.