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Great Ash Sphinx

Sphinx chersis

Description:

The five-spotted hawkmoth (Manduca quinquemaculata) is a brown and gray hawk moth of the Sphingidae family. The caterpillar, often referred to as the tomato hornworm, can be a major pest in gardens. Tomato hornworms are closely related to (and sometimes confused with) the tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta). This confusion arises because caterpillars of both species feed on the foliage of various plants from the family Solanaceae, so either species can be found on tobacco or tomato leaves, and the plant on which the caterpillar is found does not indicate its species. The larvae of these species can be distinguished by their lateral markings: tomato hornworms have eight V-shaped markings while tobacco hornworms have seven diagonal lines.[2] Furthermore, the caterpillars can be distinguished from the larval stage onwards by the color of the horns on their back ends: M. quinquemaculata caterpillars have black horns, while M. sexta caterpillars have red horns. The moths can be distinguished by the number of spots on their abdomens, with M. quinquemaculata having five.

Notes:

I think this one is a tobacco horn-worm, but correct me if I'm wrong.

1 Comment

ForestDragon
ForestDragon 10 years ago

This lovely caterpillar is actually a different Sphinx species, Sphinx chersis, Great Ash Sphinx. Note the pale stripes on the head and curved blue "horn" on the back end. :-)

JoelERChase
Spotted by
JoelERChase

New Brunswick, Canada

Spotted on Jul 8, 2011
Submitted on Jul 12, 2012

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