Horn worms?

[Blue_the_beardie]

So I have some horn worms that I got for my beardies birthday. They grew SO big way to fast. I just learned you can freeze them to slow the process but that's a bit to late. I know you can cut them but I don't think I have the guts for that . What do you do with your large worms in the winter? In the summer I'll put them outside and they will normally get picked up by birds pretty fast. But its winter right now and I have no idea what to do with them. Any ideas?

 

[AHBD]

Yes I have them too, I can rarely get a good picture because they zip away so quickly but I have a few that are decent somewhere. Hummingbird moth

 

[Claudiusx]

We get them in California also, but I haven't had any on my tomato plants for the past 5 years or so. For some reason this specific area I live in is the only place I've never had them in California.

-Brandon

 

[ChileanTaco]

Which ones are the ones you can buy as feeders?
There are plenty of species of hornworms preferring different plants; the ones I know from Germany (from the wild) and also seen in other places are

Deilephila elpenor - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

(caterpillar looks like that Deilephila elpenor - Wikipedia but also can be green)
and

Agrius convolvuli - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

and

Daphnis nerii - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

(Btw.: Tomato hornworms aren't existing in Germany.)

I always love it so much when I see those and similar species - moth and caterpillar alike!
As a kid I used to keep the caterpillars as pets, but sadly when taken from the wild, most are infested with parasitic wasps. Means: raised until big, but just before pupation the wasps emerged - oops...