Manduca quinquemaculatus

Common Name(s): Tomato Hornworm,
Five-Spotted Hawkmoth

Ecology:
This is a moth of suburban and urban areas. What has been interesting to note in the Northeastern United States is how rapidly this species has declined. Where it was once commonly found, it is almost entirely gone. What is interesting about the decline, is that Manduca sexta has not shown such a steep decline, and these species occupy the same habitat.

Adult description:
This is a fairly large moth (52-57mm Forewings (1)). Superficially, it resembles Manduca sexta. The first difference to note, is that this moth tends to be gray, rather than brown. Where the white band is on the outer forewing margin of M. sexta, this species has a straight, gray-white band paralleled by a black lines. The hindwings are also helpful to separate the two species. In this species, there are distinct black zigzag lines through the white areas on the hindwing.

Larval description:
L5: This is a fairly standard “hornworm”. Often green, but can be black or a pinkish color as well, the distinctive feature is the 8 V shaped markings along the spiracles on the abdominal segments. The horn is black in color. It can be confused with the similar looking Manduca sexta, which has a red horn, and only diagonal lines, not V shaped.

Host plants:

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L5 (C) Eric Eaton

The gallery to the left contains photos of Manduca quinquemaculatus adults. If you have a photo that you would like to submit to us, please contact us.

The gallery to the right contains photos of Manduca quinquemaculatus larval and pupal stages. If you have a photo that you would like to submit to us, please contact us.