Insects · Lepidoptera · Sphingidae

Carolina Sphinx

Manduca sexta

Not Evaluated

It has not yet been assessed against the IUCN criteria. See full glossary

Manduca sexta is an American lepidopteran of the family Sphingidae, also known as the tobacco hornworm. In its larval stage it feeds on potato, tobacco, tomato and other plants of the family Solanaceae, and as an adult it takes nectar from certain flowers. It is a holometabolous insect commonly used as a model organism in neurobiology, because of its accessible nervous system, its short life cycle and the fact that it is relatively easy to keep in the laboratory. The larval stages are the most used, because they are easy to dissect and to isolate organs from.

Size

9 cm – 12 cm

Diet

Herbivore

Feeds mainly on plants.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Unknown

GrasslandHerbivore Nocturnal Solitary Insect Grassland

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Fun facts

It is one of the classic model organisms in insect physiology: its size makes it easy to dissect and instrument, and many aspects of insect metamorphosis, flight and nervous system were first studied in it.
Its caterpillar sequesters the nicotine from tobacco and exhales it through lateral pores, which drives off the wolf spiders that would prey on it: a literal case of defensive bad breath.
The adults feed while hovering and pollinate long-tubed night-flowering plants, with which they have coevolved.
It is one of the most widely used model insects in the world in physiology and neurobiology: its large size, easy rearing and accessible nervous system have made it the entomological equivalent of the laboratory mouse.
Much of what we know about the hormones of insect metamorphosis was discovered with it.
Its caterpillar sequesters nicotine from the tobacco it eats and breathes it out through lateral pores; that nicotine-laden breath drives off the wolf spiders that prey on it. The mechanism was described in 2013 and christened defensive halitosis.
The adult sips nectar while hovering, with a very long proboscis, and is an important pollinator of long-trumpeted night-blooming flowers.
The caterpillar has a horn at its rear end, harmless despite its appearance, which gives it the name of hornworm.