Carolina sphinx moth caterpillar, (3rd instar)

Description:

It is a medium sized caterpillar that will turn into the Carolina or Tobacco sphinx moth. The caterpillar has a green to teal color with seven white and black stripes running down the sides. The most impressive and famous thing is the red and yellow horn that is non-venomous. The true legs which are near the head are white but turn black striped in later instars. the leg or the feet taxonomy has a green extendable part of muscle that can stretch out. The thing that makes them grip on is the hairs like sticker plant seeds.

Habitat:

Suburban, Fort Worth, Texas. They were feeding on a mix of Roma tomato, (Solanum lycopersicum) and Tomatillo, (Physalis philadelphica).

Notes:

This species and sub-species are found From North to South and Central america as well as the Galápagos which is the sub-species (Manduca sexta leucoptera) that is white and others in the Caribbean that are darker like sexta sexta and ones from South America.