Steven Geltmaker, age 9, of Trivoli, I11., for his question:

HOW DO TOMATO WORMS TRAVEL?

Steven reports that he is a first year 4 H club member with gardening as a project. This year one of his big problems was tomato worms. Well, Steven, it may not be much of a consolation, but just about everyone who has ever raised tomatoes has also had problems with this pesky critter at one time or another  even Andy.

Caterpillars are wormlike creatures that eventually become moths or butterflies. And even though our tomato ¬munching freeloader is called a tomato worm, or more properly a tomato hornworm, he is not a worm at all, he is a caterpillar. When he grows up he forsakes tomatoes and daintily sips nectar for his remaining days.

Each abdominal proleg bears a number of structures called crochets (pronounced croshays) that look like miniature hooks. With his claws and crochets, the caterpillar is wonderfully suited for climbing  with no lessons either, thank you. As he finishes a leaf here, he climbs over to a leaf there and begins munching anew.

When tomato hornworms become adult insects, they are known as sphinx, or hawk, moths  and beautiful creatures they are. In flight, they remind us of hummingbirds and, in fact, and sometimes called hummingbird moths. Their offspring, however, are ravenous creatures that eat and grow at an incredible rate. Once they invade your garden, the only solution is to pick them off and settle accounts with them as quickly as possible.

When the hornworm has eaten his fill, he drops to the ground and burrows beneath the surface. Now a bit of real magic takes place. For one day soon, the wormy caterpillar will crawl out of the ground, transformed into a beautiful moth. Perhaps this lovely creature is Mother nature's apology for all the trouble the caterpillar caused.