They look to me like a tobacco worm.
They are tobacco worms; that is, they are the larvae of hawk moths, some
of which take tobacco, tomatoes, grapevines and many other plants,
including some of the native weeds of your valley. Pick them off and
crush them, or give them a little snip with the scissors if you do not
like to handle them. They are so large and easily found that such
treatment is easily applied, as in "worming tobacco."
Loss of Tomato Bloom.
I have tomato plants which are very strong and healthy and full of
blossoms, but there is something cutting the blossoms off and just about
to ruin my plants.
The trouble with your tomato plants is that life is too easy for them,
that they have so much moisture and plant food that they can grow
comfortably and rapidly without thought of the future. So, because they
do not have to think of making fruit, the blossoms drop off. This is a
very common occurrence with tomatoes, especially in home gardens where
the owners have not the experience or the information on the subject
that they might have, and give the tomatoes too much water. Many other
plants act the same way and will not set fruit while they can grow
easily, and only begin to produce when they have made a great growth or
when moisture begins to get a little short. If you irrigate the
tomatoes, stop, and put no more water on until the plant begins to set
fruit as if it meant business, or gives some sign that water would be
appreciated.
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