Carolina Sphinx

Dark brown adult — Owen County (Jim and Ruthie Speas)

Adult with view of the abdomen — Morgan County (Jeffery Stone)

Adult nectaring — Scott County (Brian Lowry)

Close up of the abdomen markings on an adult — Montgomery County (Carla Frazier)

Side view of an adult — Hamilton County (Bobby Avery-Kimball)

Close up view of an adult's head — Hamilton County (Laura Dickey)

Early instar caterpillar — Hendricks County (Tina Price)

Later instar caterpillar — Johnson County (JoAnne Cummings)

Various views of caterpillars — Putnam County (Cindy Elliot)

Caterpillar in classic sphinx pose — Johnson County (JoAnne Cummings)

Caterpillar being parasitized by wasp larvae — Marion County (Tim Haynes)

An Indiana Native

Manduca sexta — Carolina Sphinx

(Linnaeus, 1763)

Hodges# 7775

Etymology

Manduca: Latin word meaning “chew” or “jaw.”

Sexta: Latin word meaning “six” refers to the six pair of orange dots, which are typical on the abdomen of adults.

Pronunciation

man-DOO-kuh SEX-tuh

Other Common Names

Tobacco Hornworm

Documented Occurrences

This map shows the confirmed sightings of the Carolina Sphinx in Indiana. All sightings were confirmed through photographic documentation by individuals who contributed to the Great American IN Nature Lepidoptera Project (GAIN LP).

GAIN LP
documented
in county.

GAIN LP Sightings

Date	County	Observer	Notes
2024-09-25	Tippecanoe	Cushman, Iris	Deceased
2024-09-16	Wayne	Conwell, Chris
2024-09-16	Wayne	Conwell, Chris
2024-08-25	Lake	Halon, Joelle
2024-08-23	Lake	Halon, Joelle
2024-08-23	Lake	Halon, Joelle
2024-08-22	Decatur	Ludlow, Jeff
2024-08-10	Marion	Kellam, Lillian
2024-08-10	Marion	Kellam, Lillian
2024-06-02	Hamilton	Avery-Kimball, Bobby

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Observation Details	Images
Date: 2024-09-25 County: Tippecanoe Observer: Cushman, Iris Notes: Deceased
Date: 2024-09-16 County: Wayne Observer: Conwell, Chris Notes:
Date: 2024-09-16 County: Wayne Observer: Conwell, Chris Notes:
Date: 2024-08-25 County: Lake Observer: Halon, Joelle Notes:
Date: 2024-08-23 County: Lake Observer: Halon, Joelle Notes:
Date: 2024-08-23 County: Lake Observer: Halon, Joelle Notes:
Date: 2024-08-22 County: Decatur Observer: Ludlow, Jeff Notes:
Date: 2024-08-10 County: Marion Observer: Kellam, Lillian Notes:
Date: 2024-08-10 County: Marion Observer: Kellam, Lillian Notes:
Date: 2024-06-02 County: Hamilton Observer: Avery-Kimball, Bobby Notes:

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Manduca sexta Sightings by Month

Notes

The Carolina Sphinx is commonly called the Tobacco Hornworm but is much more commonly found on tomatoes then the closely related Five-spotted Hawkmoth (commonly called the Tomato Hornworm). These caterpillars are common hosts for parasitic wasps that lay their eggs inside the caterpillar and emerge after the complete their metamorphosis, thus killing the caterpillar.

Conservation Status

Global status: G5 (secure)
National status: N5 (secure)
Indiana status: NR (not ranked)

Floral Associates

Carolina Sphinx caterpillars hosts on a variety of low-growing plants, many of which are common in gardens and agricultural production, especially species in the Solanaceae Family which includes garden tomatoes. This preference makes them somewhat of a pest to farmers and gardeners.

Adult use their long proboscis to feed on nectar from various flowers.

Family	Taxonomic Name	Common Name
Known Larval Food Sources in Indiana for the Manduca sexta
Order: Asterales
Asteraceae	Lactuca spp.	Lettuce
Order: Brassicales
Brassicaceae	Brassica spp.	mustards
Order: Solanales
Solanaceae	Datura spp.	daturas (jimsonweeds)
	Hyoscyamus niger	black henbane
	Lycium spp.	wolfberry and desert-thorn
	Nicandra physalodes	apple of Peru
	Nicotiana spp.	tobacco
	Petunia spp.	petunias
	Physalis spp.	groundcherries
	Solanum spp.	nightshades
Order: Solinales
	Capsicum spp.	peppers
Order: Zingiberales
Cannaceae	Canna spp.	cannas