ILoveCreatures

I had a major attack of hornworms this season finding 40(!) of them among my 6 plants. They were fat ones, too. So nasty.

In the past I’d just get 3 or 4 at most and they often were parasitized, having cocoons along their back. I’d even see the parasitic wasps hovering along our grass. I plant dill and parsley so I thought I was doing well encouraging parasitism. But with this season I looked up more info, especially wondering how the wasps overwinter. So here’s what I learned:

The wasps overwinter in cocoons on the back of hornworms that were parasitized late in the season. They remain unemerged and don’t break out of their cocoons until it gets warm again. This means it’s good to check

I’m in 7a 6b zone. I overwintered canna lily rhizomes and they look good, even starting to grow little exploratory poking parts. I have a cold frame and the temps here will be in the 70s in the coming days. I placed them all in pots and soil and gave them a little water. Some are in a basement window and others are in an outdoor cold frame.

Are there temperatures that I should be wary of and bring them all back inside? They can’t all be at the basement window though. I was thinking no lower than 40 at night but maybe that would send them back or make them sad in some way. First time forcing them and unsure what they can withstand.