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tomato fruit worm??? #714919

Asked August 18, 2020, 4:22 PM EDT

Is the attached photo a tomato fruit worm? If so, what can be done to prevent and/or treat?

Washington County Minnesota

Expert Response

It is a sawfly juvenile. Not that I have heard of everything but I have never heard of a sawfly attacking tomato fruit. Can you please send as much as you know about the damage to your tomatoes and when and where the picture was taken and why you believe the sawfly larvae is responsible.
Thanks for your response!  The attached photo is what I was finding in my tomatoes, not a lot.  Thought it was birds then I saw the sawfly larvae. Have 60 or 70 red pines on the west side of the property.  A couple of gays earlier there was a storm with high winds from west.  That could have airlifted the little critter to the garden.  So back to the holes.  Birds?

I would like to thank all the experts that respond to our questions.


The Question Asker Replied August 30, 2020, 4:01 PM EDT
So depressing! Bt doesn’t kill it because it is a larval form of a fly not a butterfly.
There are treatments for sawflies but finding one that is safe to eat will be challenging. Hand pick if you can.
The tomato fruit worm eats the inside.saw flies the outside but I am not very familiar with either. I feel lucky. Mice and chipmunks eat mine. 
Another expert thinks this larva might be a yellow-striped armyworm. https://images.app.goo.gl/K3yyzn8WUoYeKYuR9 They do like tomatoes https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef321
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/veg/leaf/yellowstriped_armyworm.htm
Bt does kill army worms but is more effective on the small larvae. 

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