Carolina Sphinx Moth, Tobacco Hornworm (Manduca sexta)

Order: Lepidoptera (le-pid-OP-ter-a) (Info) Family: Sphingidae (SFIN-gi-dee) (Info) Genus: Manduca (man-DOO-ka) (Info) Species: sexta (SEKS-ta) (Info) Profile: 1 positive 2 neutrals 14 negatives Regional... This bug has been reportedly found in the following regions: Cottondale, Alabama Vincent, Alabama Tolleson, Arizona Tucson, Arizona Flippin, Arkansas Mcgehee, Arkansas Clayton, California San Diego, California Simi Valley, California Fort Lauderdale, Florida Miami, Florida Palm Bay, Florida Pensacola, Florida Ashkum, Illinois Divernon, Illinois Coatesville, Indiana Farmersburg, Indiana Indianapolis, Indiana Benton, Kansas Salvisa, Kentucky Coushatta, Louisiana South China, Maine Crofton, Maryland Finksburg, Maryland Jefferson, Maryland Valley Lee, Maryland Bay City, Michigan Manchester, Michigan Albuquerque, New Mexico Roswell, New Mexico Charlotte, North Carolina Red Oak, North Carolina Glouster, Ohio Haviland, Ohio Lynchburg, Ohio Toledo, Ohio West Chester, Pennsylvania Manning, South Carolina Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Simpsonville, South Carolina Gallatin, Tennessee Goodlettsville, Tennessee Austin, Texas Fischer, Texas Lumberton, Texas Nevada, Texas Spring, Texas Magna, Utah Saint George, Utah Mechanicsville, Virginia North Tazewell, Virginia Member Notes: Rating Author Comment Neutral Vee8ch On Jul 25, 2006, Vee8ch from Palm Bay, FL (Zone 9b) wrote: Tobacco hornworms are the larvae of the Sphinx moth (Hummingbird Moth). Tobacco hornworms are more common than tomato hornworms. The tobacco hornworm has seven diagonal white w/black/blue lines on his sides. Tail/horn arches downward. This horn is commonly but not always red. It can also be yellow, white, green, orange and the palest blue or combinations of any of these colors. Horn worms will not hurt you if you handle them. Their tails will not poke you or sting you. They nibble on your hand with their tiny little mouths and it does not hurt. When a hornworm is resting or alarmed he will tuck in his tiny little head and expose his big white teeth that are really just harmless suction cups. He looks intimidating at both ends! Feeding schedule does not depend on night or day. I've witnessed them devouring plants in the hottest part of the day and in full sun! Negative matt5797 On Jul 30, 2006, matt5797 from Gallatin, TN (Zone 6b) wrote: This can be a bad bug for tomatoes-it can easily defoliate a small tomato and a group of them can make a harsh dent in mature tomato plants. You need to look over your plants well to find one, and when you do you may be alarmed. They look horrible but are actually completely harmless. It is best to control small invasions by hand but can be controlled with pesticides. Big invasions need some pesticide as the 2-4 inch worm has a very hard grip on your tomato. The main symptom is a defoliated plant (usually starts at the top and works on down) and plant debree on soil. The good news is that even harshly attacked plants usually will regrow new leaves given a little time. Many times putting moving container grown plants into sunnier spots will slow the bugs as they prefer dark night conditions when feeding. Also leaving a certain type of wasp will help too. The wasp will sting the worm (killing it) and produce more wasps. Interestingly, it can cause a dwarfed plant. I was trying out some germination soil once in a 1 or 2 ounce dixie cup. The plants were attacked by a hornworm and about 4 months later I have two 3-4 inch tall tomato plants, one of which is slowly setting a tomato from a tiny bathroom cup! Negative Happenstance On Aug 4, 2006, Happenstance from (Zone 10a) wrote: So cute, but really destructive. :( Negative brigidlily On Aug 11, 2006, brigidlily from Lumberton, TX (Zone 8b) wrote: I know they serve their purpose, but they devastated my chile pepper plants. Two of them ate almost all the leaves and FOURTEEN chile peppers. I stabbed one and it squirted me and the liquid burned like the dickens. I can only guess it was the capsicum. But no more peppers this year, and I'll kill any more of the little darlings that show up! Negative achoogardner On Aug 20, 2006, achoogardner from Red Oak, NC (Zone 7b) wrote: This little bugger has been eating my tomato plants for about a month! Actually buggers. I found three. Two of them had what looked like eggs laid on their backs. I would like to know what they were. The third, alas, I smashed! It ate the whole top of my plant off! Grrrrr! I did wonder about the the "horn" on it. The bug files was very helpful. Thanks! Negative minimoop On Aug 27, 2006, minimoop from Albuquerque, NM (Zone 7b) wrote: We have had several types of hornworms in our yard; varying green ones and a brown type. The green ones are the most destructive, get the biggest and show up every year. One year the kids put the brown one in a jar and fed it tomatoe leaf cuttings. They hatched a really nice moth (butterfly). The big green ones eat tomatoes, all types of chili and our datura (jimsonweed - moon flower). A few of them will take down a huge plant in a day. I have read that they will only eat members of the nightshade family - potato, tomato, chili, tobacco, and my beloved datura - among others. The hummingbird moths are wonderful, so I put up with worm hunting every morning because I love the moths. A real love/hate relationship! Negative Tomatoholic On Sep 21, 2006, Tomatoholic from Austin, TX (Zone 8b) wrote: So I really hate these things. They chow down my tomato plants and my pentas. I do not think they are cute and I do not like them any better when they become a moth either. I don't even think it is a pretty moth. I will snip in half any hormworm I run across and leave its body and guts to warn other hornworms to stay away. :) Negative Happy_1 On Oct 12, 2006, Happy_1 from Fort Lauderdale, FL (Zone 10b) wrote: They are eating my Brugs!!!!! Hap Negative renwings On Oct 21, 2006, renwings from Sultan, WA (Zone 8a) wrote: These were common in our garden, growing up in Utah. They ate the tomatoes as worms and feasted on Datura nectar as moths. I have fond memories of them as moths and was petrified of the worms, though they are harmless. Negative mmistyrose On Nov 1, 2006, mmistyrose from Benton, KS (Zone 6a) wrote: I, too, found this "darling" in my garden this year. We had okra next to the tomato plants and they decided to check out the okra not just the tomato plants. They seemed to like the okra as well as the tomatoes! Negative technegardeners On Jun 17, 2007, technegardeners from Pensacola, FL (Zone 8b) wrote: So that's what's been eating my tomatoes. I went out today and found a huge one! I don't like squashing or touching things like this, so I cut off the stem that it was on and put it in a jar for my husband to look at or kill. I may keep it as an experiment to see what moth it will become. I used to love butterflies/moths when I was a kid. I'll post a picture of it on my journal. Positive Illoquin On Jul 22, 2007, Illoquin from Indianapolis, IN (Zone 5b) wrote: I'm guess not that serious about my tomatoes and am happy to share them - -the plants get too big here, anyway. I think this guy is really cool and the moth is even cooler. I do have some tomato plants that came up from compost that I let go, so if they eat too much of the good tomato plants, I'll move them on the compost-tomato seedlings. Neutral freetwofarm On Aug 1, 2007, freetwofarm from North Tazewell, VA wrote: I found 2 in my garden. One on the tomatoe plants and one on my bean vine. I am sure there are more because of the number of leaves missing on my tomatoe plants. As of right now I am neutral. I don't have any great damage to any plants, however, I will go negative if I do. Negative sandyferoz On Aug 28, 2007, sandyferoz from South China, ME wrote: I had my first encounter with a Hornworm today. I was training my tomato vines, which are about 5 feet tall, I grabbed onto a Tomato stalk, gripping right down on a huge 5 inch worm. I jumped back, startled, I never saw anything like it before. I was waiting for it to start smoking a hooka pipe! Anyway, I didn't want to touch it so I pulled off the stem and threw it in the bushes. Then, I found 2 little ones, and squished them. I found another huge one and my boyfriend squished it. EWWW These buggers are nasty. After researching it, I'll be sure to keep killing them, I really love my tomatoes too much to spare them. Negative jennscot On Sep 23, 2007, jennscot from McGehee, AR wrote: This summer these guys ate Tomatoes, tomatillos, several kinds of hot peppers, green peppers, and eggplant. Negative ceejaytown On Jun 30, 2008, ceejaytown from The Woodlands, TX (Zone 9a) wrote: The photo by DiOhio shows the cocoons of a parasitic wasp, and the circular holes reveal that the adult wasps have emerged. These are cocoons, not eggs, and not larvae. The adult wasp lays eggs in the hornworm. The eggs hatch and the larvae devour the "non-essential" parts of the hornworm until they are ready to pupate. They then exit and form these cocoons in which to complete their metamorphosis. The hornworm, a very sick fellow by now, dies. Although many refer to the adult as a hummingbird moth, the Carolina Sphinx moth is not one of the clearwing moths with the little lobster-like tails that we see in our gardens at dusk, flitting from flower to flower like a hummingbird. Negative cowpea123 On Nov 26, 2008, cowpea123 from Coushatta, LA wrote: Nasty,Nasty horrible pests.

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