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 Sightings

Date	County	Observer	Notes	Image1	Image2
2021-07-10	Hamilton	Cummings, JoAnne
2021-06-24	Tippecanoe	Howard, Dorothy	Adult
2021-06-17	Washington	Hendrix, Suzanna	Adult
2021-06-17	Boone	Jaskula, Jeanette	Adult
2021-06-16	St. Joseph	Sieradzki, Kim	Adult
2020-09-30	Putnam	Ruble, Micky	Caterpillar
2020-09-25	Wayne	Buchholz, Judy	Caterpillars
2020-09-22	Tippecanoe	Cushman, Iris	Caterpillar
2020-09-14	Tippecanoe	Marshall, Nancy	Caterpillar
2020-09-11	Grant	Lawson, Suzanne	Caterpillar

Observation Details	Images
Date: 2021-07-10 County: Hamilton Observer: Cummings, JoAnne Notes:
Date: 2021-06-24 County: Tippecanoe Observer: Howard, Dorothy Notes: Adult
Date: 2021-06-17 County: Washington Observer: Hendrix, Suzanna Notes: Adult
Date: 2021-06-17 County: Boone Observer: Jaskula, Jeanette Notes: Adult
Date: 2021-06-16 County: St. Joseph Observer: Sieradzki, Kim Notes: Adult
Date: 2020-09-30 County: Putnam Observer: Ruble, Micky Notes: Caterpillar
Date: 2020-09-25 County: Wayne Observer: Buchholz, Judy Notes: Caterpillars
Date: 2020-09-22 County: Tippecanoe Observer: Cushman, Iris Notes: Caterpillar
Date: 2020-09-14 County: Tippecanoe Observer: Marshall, Nancy Notes: Caterpillar
Date: 2020-09-11 County: Grant Observer: Lawson, Suzanne Notes: Caterpillar

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.

Known Larval Food Sources in Indiana for the Manduca sexta
Family	Taxonomic Name	Common Name
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