Tobacco Hornworm

Description:

Manduca sexta is a moth of the family Sphingidae present through much of the American continent. Commonly known as the tobacco hornworm, it is closely related to and often confused with the very similar tomato hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculata); the larvae of both feed on the foliage of various plants from the family Solanaceae. The tobacco hornworm is sometimes kept as pets by children throughout its range. It can be distinguished by its seven diagonal lines on its sides; tomato hornworms have eight V-shaped markings.[2] A mnemonic to remember the markings is tobacco hornworms have straight white lines like cigarettes, while tomato hornworms have V-shaped markings (as in "vine-ripened" tomatoes). M. sexta larvae are green in color and grow up to 70 millimeters in length.

Habitat:

Manduca sexta sexta (from Massachusetts west across southern Michigan to Minnesota, central Colorado, North Dakota and northern California, south to Florida, the Gulf Coast, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and southern California and then further south through Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and the West Indies to Argentina)