Frass frass and more frass: Tomato fruitworm

A month ago I had issues with squash vine borers (the linkback to post is here if you missed it) and mildly complained that insect sh*t has to have its own name, “frass”.

Well, today I have more frass for you.

I’m catching up with my family on vacation tomorrow, so this morning I picked the 36 Brandywine tomatoes on the vine that had started ripening to a reasonable degree (to take with me).  In the process I pulled one with a pink/green top that I discovered to have a worm hole in it, complete with the contractor/occupant in residence.

So, for the sake of science and garden pest identification, I dissected the fruit and exposed the evil teenage moth, aka “tomato fruitworm” aka “corn earworm” aka “sorghum headworm” aka “cotton bollworm”. Like his cousin previously featured, this disgusting little pest wallows in his own “frass” while he is eating.

Google searches for “tomato eating worms” bring up hundreds of links about another green caterpillar, the “tomato hornworm”, which is gigantic (3-4″) and devours tomato foliage in a flash. It is a monster caterpillar, the largest most people would ever see outside.

OK, so why confuse the issue and bring up this pest?

Because the search also pulled up (quite prominently I might add) a link to a video titled

“Hot Chick Eating Juicy Tomato Worm – Hmm yummy and crunchy”.

Well I now have seen something more disgusting that a tomato fruitworm wallowing in its own frass. The giant caterpillar she devoured was definitely a tomato hornworm, as big as my little finger.  At least she wasn’t doing drugs or hosting an interactive webcam site from her bedroom, right?

To save any of you who are brave enough the trouble, click here to see the hot chick devouring the hornworm.

By the way, I can see the number of clicks on the link but not who clicks it, and am curious what % of people who read this post who also click the link. So now everyone who is reading this is officially part of a social experiment.

And yes, she was kind of cute, but I can’t comfortably call her “hot” as she is likely younger than my lovely daughter.