Eeeek there be holes and missing bits on the tomato plants. Well to be honest the plants can spare the extra foliage at this time of year.
Here are the culprits. Lacanobia oleracea, the Bright-line Brown-eye moth caterpillar.
Also known to gardeners as the Tomato Moth, I can't work out why though.
This fellow was having a good chomp (probably still is) on an Arisaema, he was under the leaf but his hairy bits gave him away.
Spilosoma luteum, the Buff Ermine moth caterpillar.
MrsG found this one hiding in a Dahlia flower. I've been unable to pin a name on it so far.
These I leave alone out in the garden, with tomatoes I'd be stripping leaves off to help ripen the fruit anyway. In the greenhouses I've already sprayed the Darlingtonia, the Sarracenia purpurea and S. psittacina with nematodes to prevent damage by Tortrix moth. Not much point growing Red Darlingtonia if they ruin the pitchers before they turn red.
Here are the culprits. Lacanobia oleracea, the Bright-line Brown-eye moth caterpillar.
Also known to gardeners as the Tomato Moth, I can't work out why though.
This fellow was having a good chomp (probably still is) on an Arisaema, he was under the leaf but his hairy bits gave him away.
Spilosoma luteum, the Buff Ermine moth caterpillar.
MrsG found this one hiding in a Dahlia flower. I've been unable to pin a name on it so far.
These I leave alone out in the garden, with tomatoes I'd be stripping leaves off to help ripen the fruit anyway. In the greenhouses I've already sprayed the Darlingtonia, the Sarracenia purpurea and S. psittacina with nematodes to prevent damage by Tortrix moth. Not much point growing Red Darlingtonia if they ruin the pitchers before they turn red.