''Manduca quinquemaculata'', the five-spotted hawkmoth, is a brown and gray
hawk moth
The Sphingidae are a family of moths (Lepidoptera) called sphinx moths, also colloquially known as hawk moths, with many of their caterpillars known as “hornworms”; it includes about 1,450 species. It is best represented in the tropics, but ...
of the family
Sphingidae
The Sphingidae are a family of moths (Lepidoptera) called sphinx moths, also colloquially known as hawk moths, with many of their caterpillars known as “hornworms”; it includes about 1,450 species. It is best represented in the tropics, bu ...
. The
caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths).
As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...
, often referred to as the tomato hornworm, can be a major pest in gardens; they get their name from a dark projection on their posterior end and their use of tomatoes as host plants. Tomato hornworms are closely related to (and sometimes confused with) the
tobacco hornworm
''Manduca sexta'' is a moth of the family Sphingidae present through much of the Americas. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1763 '' Centuria Insectorum''.
Commonly known as the Carolina sphinx moth and the tobacco hawk m ...
''Manduca sexta''. This confusion arises because caterpillars of both species have similar morphologies and feed on the foliage of various plants from the family
Solanaceae
The Solanaceae , or nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and orn ...
, so either species can be found on
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
or
tomato
The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...
leaves. Because of this, the plant on which the caterpillar is found does not indicate its species.
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.
Food plants
Larva
Tomato hornworms are known to eat various plants from the family
Solanaceae
The Solanaceae , or nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and orn ...
, commonly feeding on
tomato
The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...
,
eggplant
Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit.
Mos ...
,
pepper
Pepper or peppers may refer to:
Food and spice
* Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant
** Black pepper
* ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae
** Bell pepper
** Chili ...
,
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
,
moonflowers and
potato
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...
. 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.
In the evening or early morning when sunlight is less direct, the caterpillars will feed on more distal leaves.
Adult
Adult diet
Adults feed on nectar from flowering plants including ''
Datura meteloides
''Datura innoxia'' (often spelled ''inoxia''), known as pricklyburr, recurved thorn-apple, downy thorn-apple, Indian-apple, lovache, moonflower, nacazcul, toloatzin, toloaxihuitl, tolguache or toloache, is a species of flowering plant in the fami ...
,''
''
Oenothera caespitosa
''Oenothera caespitosa'', known commonly as tufted evening primrose, desert evening primrose, rock-rose evening primrose, or fragrant evening primrose, is a perennial plant of the genus ''Oenothera'' native to much of western and central North A ...
,'' and ''
Mirabilis multiflora
''Mirabilis multiflora'' is a species of flowering plant in the four o'clock family known by the common name Colorado four o'clock that is native to the southwestern United States from California to Colorado and Texas, as well as far northern Mex ...
.'' Most of the food plants they target have large, fragrant white flowers.
Interactions with host plants
Hawkmoths
The Sphingidae are a family of moths ( Lepidoptera) called sphinx moths, also colloquially known as hawk moths, with many of their caterpillars known as “hornworms”; it includes about 1,450 species. It is best represented in the tropics, b ...
, including ''M. quinquemaculata,'' are the primary pollinators of ''D. meteloides.'' The length of the moth’s
proboscis
A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a proboscis is an elong ...
(around 10 cm), which is an elongated, tubular mouthpart used for sucking and feeding, is well-suited for retrieving
nectar
Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...
from the flowers. Aside from being a host plant for ''M. quinquemaculata, D. meteloides'' has also been used by humans for its
psychoactive
A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, psychoactive agent or psychotropic drug is a chemical substance, that changes functions of the nervous system, and results in alterations in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition or behavior.
Th ...
effects. ''D. meteloides'' contains
tropane alkaloid
Tropane alkaloids are a class of bicyclic .2.1alkaloids and secondary metabolites that contain a tropane ring in their chemical structure. Tropane alkaloids occur naturally in many members of the plant family Solanaceae. Certain tropane alkal ...
s, which are present throughout the plant including in the flowers.
These
alkaloid
Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar ...
s have an intoxicating effects on the moth, which displays erratic flight patterns as well as uncoordinated, and often unsuccessful, landing attempts after consuming the nectar. Despite the impairment the nectar causes, the moths have been observed returning to the flowers and consuming more nectar. It has been hypothesized that the “spiked” nectar offers the moths reward beyond just nutrients.
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.
Life cycle
Oviposition
Females lay eggs singly on the surface of host plant leaves in late spring. Larvae hatch after approximately one week.
The female decides where to lay eggs based on an assessment of the risk of predation her offspring will face. On the tobacco plant ''
Nicotiana attenuata
''Nicotiana attenuata'' is a species of wild tobacco known by the common name coyote tobacco. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Texas and northern Mexico, where it grows in many types of habitat. It is a glandular a ...
'', young leaves close to a plant's stem are more protected from predators and larvae that grow there gain more mass than larvae grown elsewhere on the plant; females prefer to
oviposit
The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typical ...
, or lay their eggs, on these leaves.
Eggs are large and range in color from pale green to off-white.
Larva
''M. quinquemaculata'' larvae are large green caterpillars reaching a length of up to 10 cm (3.9 inches) when fully grown.
The caterpillars have a dark, pointed projection on their rear end that earns them the name "hornworm".
Although the tomato hornworm, ''M. quinquemaculata,'' can be confused with the
tobacco hornworm
''Manduca sexta'' is a moth of the family Sphingidae present through much of the Americas. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1763 '' Centuria Insectorum''.
Commonly known as the Carolina sphinx moth and the tobacco hawk m ...
, ''
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.
Caterpillars hatch in late spring to early summer. They develop through five
instar
An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...
s to reach maturity.
In warmer climates where the first generation emerges earlier in the year, two generations of caterpillars can coexist in a single summer.
Once fully grown, caterpillars fall from their host plants to
pupa
A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...
te.
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.
After pupation, ''M. quinquemaculata''
overwinter
Overwintering is the process by which some organisms pass through or wait out the winter season, or pass through that period of the year when "winter" conditions (cold or sub-zero temperatures, ice, snow, limited food supplies) make normal activi ...
in the soil near their host plants, with adults emerging the following summer.
Adults
Adults are large, with a wingspan of up to .
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."
The moths of ''M. quinquemaculata'' and ''M. sexta'' can be distinguished by the number of spots on their abdomens.
Shortly after adults emerge from the soil, they mate and females lay their eggs on host plants, renewing the life cycle.
File:Tomato hornworm.jpg, Tomato hornworm larva
File:Tobacco Hornworm 1.jpg, closely related tobacco hornworm - note the red horn and lack of V-shaped white markings
File:Manduca quinquemaculata MHNT CUT 2010 0 116 Sorel-Tracy Quebec Canada female dorsal.jpg, Female - dorsal view
File:Manduca quinquemaculata MHNT CUT 2010 0 116 Sorel-Tracy Quebec Canada female ventral.jpg, Female - ventral view
Relationship with ''M. sexta''
''M. quinquemaculata'' and ''M. sexta'' are both large hawkmoths of the genus ''
Manduca
''Manduca'' is a genus of moths in the family Sphingidae, the hawkmoths. The genus is used as a model in the biological sciences. The tobacco hornworm (''Manduca sexta'') and the tomato hornworm (''M. quinquemaculata'') in particular have been w ...
.'' The two species have similar appearances in both larvae and adults and share common food sources, including tobacco.
Past research, observing that the two species are similar, referred to the two as
sister species
In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree.
Definition
The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram:
Taxon A and t ...
. However, a recent
phylogenetic analysis
In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...
from Kawahara et al. (2013) found that the two species, though closely related, are not sister species. The authors tracked the ancestral origin of both species to
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
, where the two species diverged from one another.
Pest control
![Tomato hornworm in garden](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Tomato_hornworm_in_garden.jpg)
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.
The use of a UV blacklight at night helps to find them, as they glow bright green. (see photo below). Some gardeners plant
marigolds, which repel the species, near their tomato plants to reduce
predation
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...
. Among other examples, the larvae can also be eaten by most common
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
species.
Parasites
The
parasitoid wasp
Parasitoid wasps are a large group of hymenopteran superfamilies, with all but the wood wasps (Orussoidea) being in the wasp-waisted Apocrita. As parasitoids, they lay their eggs on or in the bodies of other arthropods, sooner or later causin ...
''
Trichogramma
''Trichogramma'' is a genus of minute polyphagous wasps that are endoparasitoids of insect eggs. ''Trichogramma'' is one of around 80 genera from the family Trichogrammatidae, with over 200 species worldwide.Consoli FL, Parra JRP, Zucchi RA (2010 ...
'' 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
Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also invo ...
by humans.
![Tobacco Hornworm Parasitized by Braconid Wasp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Tobacco_Hornworm_Parasitized_by_Braconid_Wasp.jpg)
A second parasitoid wasp, ''
Cotesia congregata
''Cotesia congregata'' is a parasitoid wasp of the genus ''Cotesia''. The genus is particularly noted for its use of polydnaviruses. Parasitoids are distinct from true parasites in that a parasitoid will ultimately kill its host or otherwise ste ...
'' of the family
Braconidae
The Braconidae are a family of parasitoid wasps. After the closely related Ichneumonidae, braconids make up the second-largest family in the order Hymenoptera, with about 17,000 recognized species and many thousands more undescribed. One analysis ...
, 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.
Traps
Adult ''M. quinquemaculata'' are most active in flight after dark.
Early studies found that the moths are attracted to
blacklight
A blacklight, also called a UV-A light, Wood's lamp, or ultraviolet light, is a lamp that emits long-wave (UV-A) ultraviolet light and very little visible light. One type of lamp has a violet filter material, either on the bulb or in a separat ...
, 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.
Images
Tomato Hornworm Larva - Relic38 - Ontario Canada.JPG, Tomato hornworm larva
Manduca quinquemaculata diversity sjh.JPG, ''M. quinquemaculata'' diversity
Manduca quinquemaculata detail.JPG, Head detail
Manduca quinquemaculata at DEN airport.jpg, Live ''M. quinquemaculata''
Tomato worm under uv.png, Tomato worm illuminated with UV on tomato plant
References
External links
The Tomato HornwormsColorado State University Cooperative Extension, Denver County
''Manduca quinquemaculata'' Butterflies and Moths of North America
on the
UF /
IFAS Featured Creatures website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manduca Quinquemaculata
Manduca
Tomato diseases
Moths described in 1803
Moths of North America