![]() Pest Status: Caterpillars feed on certain plants, adult moths feed on nectar medically harmless.įor additional information, contact your local Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agent or search for other state Extension offices. Caterpillars feed of leaves of tomato, eggplant, pepper, potato and some weeds. Photo by Mike Merchant Common Name: Tomato hornworm Scientific Name: Manduca quinquemaculata (Haworth) Order: Lepidoptera Description: Caterpillars can reach 3 to 4 inches in length, are green with prominent diagonal white stripes along the sides of the body and a black-colored horn on the back end. Habitat and Food Source(s): Caterpillars have chewing mouthparts. Unless the pupa overwinters, adults can emerge in about 3 weeks, producing two generations per year. Caterpillars hatch from the eggs in about 7 days and caterpillars develop through five stages (instars) for 3 to 4 weeks until they pupate 3 to 4 inches deep in the soil. Female moths deposit greenish-yellow eggs single on the undersides of host plant leaves. The moth’s abdomen is marked with five pairs of orange-yellow spots. They are large-bodied moths with a 4 to 5 inch wingspan that resemble humming birds in flight as they hover around flowers from which they obtain nectar at dusk. The pupa is about 2 inches long, dark brown in color and spindle-shaped, with the encased mouthparts prominent and separated from the body, appearing like a handle. Life Cycle: The winter is spent as a pupa in the soil. ![]() Adults of the tobacco hornworm have differently patterned hind wings and 6 pairs of orange-yellow spots along the abdomen. The tobacco hornworm larva differs in that the white diagonal (appearing as “/” marks with the head to the left) stripes on the sides of the body appear as “ /” marks. ![]() The tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta (Linnaeus), is very similar to the tomato hornworm in biology and the two species may be found together. There are a number of common hawkmoths or sphinx moths in Texas. Scientific Name: Manduca quinquemaculata (Haworth)ĭescription: Caterpillars can reach 3 to 4 inches in length, are green with prominent diagonal white stripes along the sides of the body and a black-colored “horn” on the back end. Tomato hornworm, Manduca quinquemaculata (Haworth) (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae), adult. Tomato hornworm, Manduca quinquemaculata (Haworth) (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae), caterpillar. ![]()
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