I am finding some tomato fruits with these scarred over holes near the calyx. I thought it might be a tomato fruit worm, which has occurred in my gard...
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Scarred holes in tomatoes #939544
Asked July 16, 2026, 10:12 PM EDT
I am finding some tomato fruits with these scarred over holes near the calyx. I thought it might be a tomato fruit worm, which has occurred in my garden in the past, but I sliced one open (picture) into pieces and no worm had burrowed into the fruit like in the past. I have not seen the actual worms, just the symptoms on the fruit. Multiple varieties are affected. Is this a fruit worm, an army worm, or something else?
I sprayed BT on tomatoes 10 days ago (found hornworms), and sprayed with Surround WP three days ago ( though it could probably use a second application as the first looks thin). We have not had significant rain to wash these off ( I water with drip irrigation).
Charles CountyMaryland
Expert Response
It's hard to tell what the culprit was, though some type of caterpillar (likely the hornworms you saw, unless they were still very small) is likely. Or, there were spots of fungal or bacterial decay that then created an opening which desiccated around the edges as it sunk in (which appears to be the case in the third photo, although it's not in focus).
Bt only works on young caterpillars (make sure it's a strain labeled for caterpillars and not flies or beetles), because the older they get, the more resistant they become to the effects of the Bt toxin in their gut. Some caterpillars are very hard to find or may only feed at night, so you could try inspecting the plants after dark to see if you can identify the culprit. If you think caterpillars are still present (especially if you see frass/droppings), though, re-apply the Bt as directed on the label to maintain protection, since it may wear off quickly. For older caterpillars, a more effective ingredient is spinosad, although the product needs to be labeled for use on plants, and verify if can be applied directly to fruits or not. The kaolin clay (Surround) is more broad-spectrum and should discourage chewing insects in general, but it too requires regular re-application, though perhaps less often when it's not raining.
Yes, I used bacillus thuringiensis subspecies kurstaki. I have had my share of hornworms in this garden over the years! The thing is, I didn't see any foliar damage or hornworm pellets/frass on the various plants where the tomato fruit had these holes.
I've attached a couple more pictures. One is rosella purple tomato that I cut apart to see the damage inside ( some part of the fruit was salvageable, and in the past with tomato fruit worms that has not been the case). A second picture is of another tomato, this one green, with holes of the same type. Hopefully that photo is in better focus.
So far I have found five tomatoes on different plants that have this affliction. I will keep my eye out for any actual sign of a fruit worm. Where I live there are a lot of corn fields in the area too.
I have Spinosad ( Captain Jack's Dead Bug Brew), but I'm careful about using it because I don't want to kill any bees. Would you recommend spraying it in the evening to protect bees and pollinators? What is the best way to use it? Some people combine spinosad with surround saying that the kaolin clay holds the insecticide to the leaf and makes it more effective. Is this true?
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From: ask=<personal data hidden> on behalf of Ask Extension Sent: Friday, 17 July 2026 08:43:44 To: maggiemac420 Subject: Re: Scarred holes in tomatoes (#0209459)
Spinosad is translaminar in action, which means it can absorb into the leaf surfaces it's sprayed on but isn't truly systemic, so it doesn't travel to other parts of the plant. Some of the spray may stay on the surface as well, but don't mix pesticides unless each product specifically says it can be combined with another, or else efficacy could be reduced or plant tissue damage could occur. (Or, for edible plants, a combination might not be safe to use on harvested crops.)
Definitely avoid spraying flowers (which, for a presumed pest of the fruits, would not be necessary anyway), and yes, an evening or early-morning application can help to avoid bee exposure. There is no "best way" per se to apply it; you'll need to follow all label directions. Each formulation can have different instructions based on its ingredient mix (active ingredient as well as inert ingredients). Note, though, that any spray won't be very effective once larvae enter the fruit, so in that sense, a Bt, spinosad, or kaolin clay application will effectively only be topical since larvae would have to chew through a treated surface layer in order to be exposed.
This might be the work of tomato fruitworm, as you noted. Hornworm frass and leaf chewing signs can be hard to detect until the caterpillars are surprisingly well into development, but since you have experience dealing with that species, we presume that's not the issue here, then. Yellow-striped Armyworms have been known to chew into tomato fruits as well, and if we've ruled out the other two caterpillar species, that might be your culprit. Penn State notes that "they can have multiple generations per year and various overlapping stages (egg, larvae, adult) throughout the growing season."
Thank you. I'll let you know if I actually find an army worm or a tomato fruit worm in action ..
I'll try the spinisad in the evening.
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From: ask=<personal data hidden> on behalf of Ask Extension Sent: Friday, 17 July 2026 11:56:34 To: maggiemac420 Subject: Re: Scarred holes in tomatoes (#0209459)