BeneficialTobacco hornworm
Tachinid flies for tobacco hornworm
Tachinidae · wild parasitoid
Against tobacco hornworm
NC State lists the tachinid flies Winthemia species and Archytas marmoratus among the parasitoids of tobacco hornworm, alongside the braconid Cotesia congregata. They are wild, not sold, and their contribution has not been measured in the sources we checked, so hand-picking remains the garden control.
RateWild — keep nectar plants near the crop, no broad-spectrum sprays
TimingSummer, while hornworms are feeding
macro · tachinid flies on tobacco hornworm
The pestTobacco hornwormManduca sextaWhole leaves eaten, green fruit gougedFull pest profile →Before you act
Bristly, housefly-like flies whose larvae develop inside other insects. The small white eggs glued to a squash bug or caterpillar mean a tachinid has already found it. How to recognise it, what it is confused with and how to keep it around are on the full Tachinid flies profile.
Other controls for tobacco hornworm
- Braconid waspsWild parasitoid · Nothing to release — leave the caterpillar where it is
- Bacillus thuringiensis kurstakiMicrobial insecticide · Label rate — DiPel DF lists tobacco hornworm (0.5–1.0 lb per acre on tobacco); the Thuricide home label names only tomato hornworm, at 1–3 tsp per gallon on tomato, pepper and eggplant
- Trichogramma spp.Egg parasitoid wasp · 50k–100k /acre weekly (1–2 /ft² in gardens)
- Paper waspsWild predator (stings) · Wild — tolerate nests away from doors and paths