tomato hornworm
noun
: a North American hawk moth (Manduca quinquemaculata) whose green larva is a hornworm feeding on leaves of plants of the nightshade family and especially tobacco and tomato
Examples of tomato hornworm in a Sentence
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What Are Spotted Tomato Hornworms Spotted tomato hornworms or tomato hornworms are the precursor before becoming a hawk moth, also known as the hummingbird moth.
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Lauren David, Southern Living, 1 June 2026
Monitor for Pests and Disease Healthy plants are better at surviving heat stress than plants that are already weakened, so keep an eye on your tomato plants throughout the growing season for common pests, like tomato hornworm, and diseases, such as early or late blight, white mold, and canker.
—Samantha Johnson, Martha Stewart, 30 May 2026
Watch for aphids, spider mites, and tomato hornworms at the end of the month.
—Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 May 2026
This paved the way for a fellowship and a PhD at UCLA (with a thesis on the tomato hornworm moth) that was also awarded the same accolade, but this one had followed a full year of total failure on a project that had not been based on observations from the wild.
—Literary Hub, 23 Apr. 2026
How to find tomato hornworms Actively feeding tomato hornworms leave behind a trail of biological waste called frass.
—Barbara Gillette, The Spruce, 9 Mar. 2026
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Lauren David, Southern Living, 1 June 2026
Monitor for Pests and Disease Healthy plants are better at surviving heat stress than plants that are already weakened, so keep an eye on your tomato plants throughout the growing season for common pests, like tomato hornworm, and diseases, such as early or late blight, white mold, and canker.
—Samantha Johnson, Martha Stewart, 30 May 2026
Watch for aphids, spider mites, and tomato hornworms at the end of the month.
—Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 May 2026
This paved the way for a fellowship and a PhD at UCLA (with a thesis on the tomato hornworm moth) that was also awarded the same accolade, but this one had followed a full year of total failure on a project that had not been based on observations from the wild.
—Literary Hub, 23 Apr. 2026
How to find tomato hornworms Actively feeding tomato hornworms leave behind a trail of biological waste called frass.
—Barbara Gillette, The Spruce, 9 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tomato hornworm.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tomato%20hornworm. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
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