Manduca sexta (tobacco hornworm (USA))
Identity
- Preferred Scientific Name
- Manduca sexta (Linnaeus, 1763)
- Preferred Common Name
- tobacco hornworm (USA)
- Other Scientific Names
- Macrosila carolina (Linnaeus) Clemens, 1839
- Manduca carolina (Linnaeus) Hübner [1809]
- Phlegethontius carolina (Linnaeus) Hübner [1819]
- Phlegethontius sexta (Linnaeus) Kirby, 1892
- Protoparce carolina (Linnaeus) Butler, 1876
- Protoparce griseata Butler, 1875
- Protoparce jamaicensis Butler, 1876
- Protoparce leucoptera Rothschild and Jordan, 1903
- Protoparce sexta (Linnaeus) Rothschild & Jordan, 1903
- Protoparce sexta luciae Gehlen, 1928
- Protoparce sexta peruviana Bryk, 1953
- Protoparce sexta saliensis Kernbach, 1964
- Sphinx caestri Blanchard, 1854
- Sphinx carolina Linnaeus, 1764
- Sphinx eurylochus Philippi, 1860
- Sphinx lycopersici Boisduval, [1875]
- Sphinx nicotianae Boisduval, [1875]
- Sphinx paphus Cramer, 1779
- Sphinx sexta Linnaeus, 1763
- Sphinx tabaci Boisduval, [1875]
- International Common Names
- EnglishCarolina sphinx (USA)hornworm, tobaccotobacco wormtomato sphinx
- Spanishcachudo del tabacocornudo del tabacogusano cachudo del tabacogusano cornudo del tabacogusano de cuerno del tabaco (Mexico)gusano verde del tabacomarandovatorito
- Frenchsphinx du tabac
- Portuguesemandarova do fumo (Brazil)
- Local Common Names
- Turkeymahmuzlu kurt
- EPPO code
- MANDSE (Manduca sexta)
Pictures
Adult male
M. sexta adult: set specimen of the tobacco hornworm (male).
©A.R. Pittaway
Fifth instar larva
Resting fifth instar larva of M. sexta on Lycium.
©A.R. Pittaway
Adult male
Pinned male moth of M. sexta. This individual is darker than normal as a result of being reared under cool conditions.
©A.R. Pittaway
Manduca sexta
Robert M. McPherson, University of Georgia, bugwood.org
Refer to Bugwood: http://www.bugwood.org/ImageUsage.html
Manduca sexta
Robert M. McPherson, University of Georgia, bugwood.org
Refer to Bugwood: http://www.bugwood.org/ImageUsage.html
Manduca sexta
Robert M. McPherson, University of Georgia, bugwood.org
Refer to Bugwood: http://www.bugwood.org/ImageUsage.html
Manduca sexta
Robert M. McPherson, University of Georgia, bugwood.org
Refer to Bugwood: http://www.bugwood.org/ImageUsage.html
Manduca sexta
Robert M. McPherson, University of Georgia, bugwood.org
Refer to Bugwood: http://www.bugwood.org/ImageUsage.html
Manduca sexta
Robert M. McPherson, University of Georgia, bugwood.org
Refer to Bugwood: http://www.bugwood.org/ImageUsage.html
Manduca sexta
Robert L. Anderson, USDA Forest Service, bugwood.org
Refer to Bugwood: http://www.bugwood.org/ImageUsage.html
Distribution
Host Plants and Other Plants Affected
| Host | Host status | References |
|---|---|---|
| Capsicum annuum (bell pepper) | Main | |
| Datura stramonium (jimsonweed) | Other | |
| Martynia annua (tiger's claw) | Wild host | |
| Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) | Main | |
| Sesamum (Sesame) | Main | |
| Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) | Main | |
| Solanum tuberosum (potato) | Main | |
| Verbena (vervain) | Other |
Symptoms
The larvae are mainly nocturnal and prefer younger leaves, often stripping growing shoots, particularly in the final instar. Two or more healthy larvae can completely defoliate a tobacco plant, leaving only midribs and stem. During major infestations entire plantations may be defoliated. Severe damage most commonly occurs during late July and August in the USA. With heavy infestations of tomatoes, caterpillars may even feed on developing fruit, leaving large, open scars.
List of Symptoms/Signs
| Symptom or sign | Life stages | Sign or diagnosis |
|---|---|---|
| Plants/Leaves/external feeding | ||
| Plants/Whole plant/external feeding |
Prevention and Control
Chemical ControlMalathion, diazinon, carbaryl and fenitrothion have been used with great effect. In the southern USA it is recommended that hornworms on tobacco be treated with insecticides when infestation levels exceed the economic threshold of five or more large (2.5 cm or longer), unparasitized larvae, per 50 plants (North Carolina State University, 1998).Cultural ControlCultural practices are very important. Early planted tobacco, correct (not excessive) nitrogen fertilization, sucker control, stalk destruction, and autumn ploughing all help to reduce overwintering populations (Reagan et al., 1978). Additionally, certain cultivars of tobacco have been found to be resistant to M. sexta in the USA (Johnson, 1996).Field evaluation in North Carolina of a transgenic tobacco cultivar containing a Bacillus thuringiensis insecticidal protein gene demonstrated that damage by M. sexta remained below the economic threshold for the duration of the trial (Warren et al., 1992).Biological ControlThere are a number of natural enemies that help control hornworm populations, with two having been used in augmentative biological control programmes - the braconid Cotesia congregata, and the bacterium Bacillus sphingidis.
Impact
Early generations are potentially damaging to marketable tobacco in the southern USA, sometimes stripping entire plantations. Severe damage most commonly occurs during late July and August. Later generations feed after harvest on non-commercial suckers. Nevertheless, these later generations are commercially important as they produce overwintering pupae. With heavy infestations of tomatoes, caterpillars may even feed on developing fruit, leaving large, open scars.Field studies were conducted during 1981 in Maryland, USA, to determine the relationship between pest density and yield loss from artificial infestations of fourth and fifth instar larvae. At several growth stages of the tobacco cultivar Md. 872, yields declined as the number of larvae per plant, or the percentage of infested plants increased. The data showed that yield loss varied according to date of infestation and plant phenology; tobacco plants became more tolerant of infestations as they aged. Based on control costs, and the market value of Maryland tobacco at the time of the study, larval population levels capable of causing 1.8% yield loss justified treatment. Economic injury levels varied considerably with plant growth stage and distribution patterns of infestations (Kolodny-Hirsch and Harrison, 1986).
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Copyright © CABI. CABI is a registered EU trademark. This article is published under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
History
Published online: 20 November 2019
Language
English
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