Say hello to my little friend(s).

The term “parasites” often relates images of tapeworms, head lice or other undesirable critters that children can bring home from school.  When a gardener thinks of the word parasite a much more pleasant image comes to mind.  We recently found this guy on our tomato plants.  He (or she) is a tomato hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculata) and can eat his weight in tomato plant and fruit every day.  He is a large caterpillar about the size of a bic pen only much more plump (and green).  All of the little white bumps are cocoons of a brachonid wasp called Cotesia congregatus (syn. = Apanteles congregatus).  These little wasps lay eggs under the skin of the caterpillar.  The eggs hatch and the larvae eat the large green caterpillar from the inside.  When they have had their fill they burrow through the skin to the outside of the hornworm and spin their cocoon where they emerge several days later. These cocoons are all of those little white specs that you see.  The cycle then repeats.  The more wasps, the fewer hornworms and organic gardening works at its maximum efficiency.  The beautiful albeit disturbing way of nature.