Manduca quinquemaculata, the five-spotted hawk moth/tomato horn worm. A large pale-green caterpillar with white and black markings. The caterpillar can reach 3 _ to 4 in. when fully mature. The spike on one of the last abdominal segments gives the caterpillar the name äóìhornworm.äó The adult moth, called a sphinx or hawk moth, is a medium to large, heavy-bodied moth with narrow front wings. The moth has a spindle-shaped body which tapers at both ends and fairly thick antennae. The adult is a mottled gray-brown color with yellow spots on the sides of the abdomen and a wing spread of 4 to 5 inches.
Injury: The hornworm feeds on the leaves and new stems of the tomato plant, causing extensive damage. During July and August they also occasionally feed on the fruit.
In your case he seemed to think that this would be a good plant to eat also. If you recently took this photo, you can simply leave him out in the cold to die. They are sometime infested with a parasitic wasp eggs that hatch by the young basically eating their out of the caterpillar. You would see tiny little egg casing sticking out of the back. If you see them you should allow the caterpillar to live since it is already dying but the parasitic wasps need to hatch first. That is their job in life to destroy these caterpillars.
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