There's something snacking on my tomatoes!

Question

There is some kind of caterpillar eating thru my tomatoes. I cut one of the bad tomatoes open, and found a dark brown chrysalis 5/8" long inside an eaten tomato. Does anyone have any idea what it could be?

Answer 1

tomato larvae, use a sevin dust, or a rose dust to keep off future guests

Answer 2

The pest you have is a tomato fruit worm.

Helicoverpa (Heliothis) zea

When there is fruit present, the tomato fruitworm will complete its larval development inside fruit. Early stage larvae enter fruit at the stem end when it is between 0.75 to 2 inches in diameter. During development, caterpillars may emerge from one fruit and enter another. Their feeding results in a messy, watery, internal cavity filled with cast skins and f***s. Damaged fruit will ripen prematurely. Late in the season, small larvae will also enter ripe fruit. Small larvae are difficult to detect and, thus, may be a problem in processing tomatoes for the canner. Tomato fruitworm is less of a problem for fresh market tomatoes because damaged fruit are easily culled at harvest.

Answer 3

Most likely tomato hornworm. You can hand pick them as green caterpillars,(look under the leaves, on stalks and fruit), and either squish them or put them in a bucket of soapy water.