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
2023-09-05	Washington	Hendrix, Suzanna
2023-09-04	Washington	Hendrix, Suzanna
2023-09-02	Washington	Hendrix, Suzanna
2023-09-02	Washington	Hendrix, Suzanna
2023-08-26	Hamilton	Kant, Nancy
2023-08-19	Jackson	Johnson, Stefan
2023-07-22	Putnam	Price, Sheryl
2023-07-13	Hamilton	Avery-Kimball, Bobby
2022-09-27	Lake	Moore, Chris
2022-09-18	Tippecanoe	Cushman, Iris

Observation Details	Images
Date: 2023-09-05 County: Washington Observer: Hendrix, Suzanna Notes:
Date: 2023-09-04 County: Washington Observer: Hendrix, Suzanna Notes:
Date: 2023-09-02 County: Washington Observer: Hendrix, Suzanna Notes:
Date: 2023-09-02 County: Washington Observer: Hendrix, Suzanna Notes:
Date: 2023-08-26 County: Hamilton Observer: Kant, Nancy Notes:
Date: 2023-08-19 County: Jackson Observer: Johnson, Stefan Notes:
Date: 2023-07-22 County: Putnam Observer: Price, Sheryl Notes:
Date: 2023-07-13 County: Hamilton Observer: Avery-Kimball, Bobby Notes:
Date: 2022-09-27 County: Lake Observer: Moore, Chris Notes:
Date: 2022-09-18 County: Tippecanoe Observer: Cushman, Iris Notes:

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