Manduca quinquemaculata
Manduca quinquemaculata | |
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Male - dorsal view | |
Male - ventral view | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Sphingidae |
Genus: | Manduca |
Species: | M. quinquemaculata
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Binomial name | |
Manduca quinquemaculata | |
Synonyms | |
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Manduca quinquemaculata, the five-spotted hawkmoth, is a brown and gray
Range
M. quinquemaculata is found across North America and Australia. The tobacco hornworm, a close relative of the tomato hornworm, tends to dominate the south while tomato hornworms are more prevalent in the northern United States.[2]
Food plants
Larva
Tomato hornworms are known to eat various plants from the family Solanaceae, commonly feeding on tomato, eggplant, pepper, tobacco, moonflowers and potato. Females prefer to oviposit on young leaves near the stem of host plants, and early instar caterpillars can often be found here during the day.[3] In the evening or early morning when sunlight is less direct, the caterpillars will feed on more distal leaves.[4]
Adult
Adult diet
Adults feed on nectar from flowering plants including
Interactions with host plants
Both Mirabilis multiflora and Oenothera caespitosa are also dependent on hawkmoths for pollination. M. quinquemaculata has been found to feed from Oenothera caespitosa first and only later to visit Mirabilis multiflora, indicating a preference for the former.[6]
Life cycle
Oviposition
Females lay eggs singly on the surface of host plant leaves in late spring. Larvae hatch after approximately one week.
Larva
M. quinquemaculata larvae are large green caterpillars reaching a length of up to 10 cm (3.9 inches) when fully grown.[7] The caterpillars have a dark, pointed projection on their rear end that earns them the name "hornworm".[7] Although the tomato hornworm, M. quinquemaculata, can be confused with the tobacco hornworm, M. sexta, the larvae of these species can be distinguished by their lateral markings: tomato hornworms have eight V-shaped white markings with no borders and dark blue or black horns, while tobacco hornworms have seven white diagonal lines with a black border and red horns.[8]
Caterpillars hatch in late spring to early summer. They develop through five instars to reach maturity.[3][7] In warmer climates where the first generation emerges earlier in the year, two generations of caterpillars can coexist in a single summer.[4] Once fully grown, caterpillars fall from their host plants to pupate.[7]
Pupa
Caterpillars pupate in early fall, which means they enter a stage of their life cycle where they become a pupa and undergo transformation into a moth.[7] After pupation, M. quinquemaculata overwinter in the soil near their host plants, with adults emerging the following summer.[9][4]
Adults
Adults are large, with a wingspan of up to 13 centimetres (5.1 in).[7] The wings of the moth are brown and gray with large mottled front wings and smaller hindwings with light and dark zig-zag patterned bands. The abdomens are brown and white with a row of five yellow spots down each side, giving them the name "five-spotted hawkmoth."[10][4] The moths of M. quinquemaculata and M. sexta can be distinguished by the number of spots on their abdomens.[8]
Shortly after adults emerge from the soil, they mate and females lay their eggs on host plants, renewing the life cycle.[7]
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Tomato hornworm larva
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closely related tobacco hornworm - note the red horn and lack of V-shaped white markings
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Female - dorsal view
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Female - ventral view
Relationship with M. sexta
M. quinquemaculata and M. sexta are both large hawkmoths of the genus
Pest control
Because the larvae are pests of crop plants such as tomatoes and tobacco, biological control agents and traps have been used to control their populations. Gardeners whose tomato plants are predated by the tomato hornworm pick the caterpillars off of their plants.[4]The use of a UV blacklight at night helps to find them, as they glow bright green. (see photo below). Among other examples, the larvae can also be eaten by most common bird species.
Parasites
The parasitoid wasp Trichogramma attacks M. quinquemaculata eggs. The larvae of the wasp develop in the egg, preventing the development of the caterpillar larvae. Trichogramma is a natural enemy of M. quinquemaculata and has also been used as a biological control agent by humans.[13]
A second parasitoid wasp, Cotesia congregata of the family Braconidae, also kills M. quinquemaculata. Adult females lay their eggs inside the skin of the hornworm caterpillar. After hatching, the wasp larvae use the organs and tissues of the caterpillar as food sources before burrowing out of the skin and pupating on the back and sides of the caterpillar. Once the wasps have emerged from their cocoons, the weakened caterpillar dies. Like the parasitoid wasp mentioned above, these wasps have also been suggested as a means of biological control of the tomato hornworm.[14][15]
Traps
Adult M. quinquemaculata are most active in flight after dark.[10] Early studies found that the moths are attracted to blacklight, which is used as a lure in some traps. Although the traps can be used for research and the moths can be released after capture, traps like these have been suggested as a means of population control. However, one study found that the reduction in population was not strong enough to significantly impact population size.[16]
Images
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Tomato hornworm larva
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M. quinquemaculata diversity
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Head detail
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Live M. quinquemaculata
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Tomato worm illuminated with UV on tomato plant
References
- ^ "Sphingidae Taxonomic Inventory: Manduca quinquemaculatus". sphingidae.myspecies.info. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
- OCLC 1002303962.)
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ JSTOR 3072065.
- ^ a b c d e f g Cranshaw, W. S. "Hornworms and "Hummingbird" Moths - 5.517 - Extension". Extension. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
- ^ S2CID 84981176.
- ^ a b Hodges, Scott A. "Some preliminary Observations on Hawkmoth Pollination of Oenothera caespitosa and Mirabilis multiflora": 244–249.
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: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ a b c d e f g h Wold-Burnkess, S. J.; Hutchison, W. D. (2015-06-09). "Tomato Hornworm". VegEdge. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
- ^ a b Villanueva, Raul (June 1998). "Tobacco Hornworm". Retrieved 2006-10-21.
- ^ Banham, F. L. (1970). "Notes on diapause in the tomato hornworm (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae), in British Columbia". Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia. 67: 16–17.
- ^ a b "Five-spotted hawkmoth Manduca quinquemaculata (Haworth, 1803) | Butterflies and Moths of North America". www.butterfliesandmoths.org. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
- S2CID 29401231.
- PMID 23643972.
- PMID 27965403.
- ^ Gray, Betty. "Beneficial insects in the garden: #04 Braconid Wasp on Hornworm (Cotesia congregatus)". aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
- ^ "Parasitism of the Tomato Hornworm". projects.ncsu.edu. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
- ISSN 0022-0493.
External links
- The Tomato Hornworms Colorado State University Cooperative Extension, Denver County
- Manduca quinquemaculata, Butterflies and Moths of North America
- Tomato hornworm on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures website
- "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Archived from the original on 2012-08-03. Retrieved 2011-11-01.