Hornworm eggs galore..

[JeffreH]

I read that tomato leaves make the hornworms poisonous. Is that not true?

I don't want to beat a dead horse, but just to elaborate on what Pluke said: Manduca sexta will feed on a variety of plants in the Solanaceae family... Tomato, Pepper, and Tobacco are the most common host plant crops. ALL of these plants contain secondary metabolites and alkaloids that are fairly toxic to a wide variety of animals. So even if you see a hornworm (or any larvae for that matter) feeding on something other than tomato, it is still likely toxic.

Just wanted to stress what Pluke has covered about feeding wild-caught butterfly and moth larvae - there are varieties of species that utilize their host plant compounds as a defense against predation. So be sure to go with the safe lab chow ; ) I know mulberryfarms.com also sells hornworm chow in addition to Great Lakes.