Five-spotted hawkmoth
Manduca quinquemaculata (Haworth, 1803)
Family: Sphingidae
Subfamily: Sphinginae
Identification: Abdomen usually has 5 but sometimes 6 pairs of yellow bands. Forewing is blurry brown and gray. Hindwing is banded with brown and white and has 2 well-separated median zigzag bands. Forewing fringes are grayish, not distinctly spotted with white.
Wing Span: 3 9/16 - 5 5/16 inches (9 - 13.5 cm).
Life History: Adults fly at dusk, and females deposit eggs singly on the upper surface of host plant leaves. The caterpillars are called Tomato Hornworms and each has a black horn at the end of the abdomen. Caterpillars have huge appetites for leaves and fruits and can defoliate plants quickly. Fully-grown caterpillars pupate and overwinter in soil burrows.
Flight: . Several broods from February-October in Florida and from April-October in Louisiana, at least two broods from May-October in the rest of the range.
Caterpillar Hosts: Potato, tobacco, tomato, and other plants in the nightshade family (Solanaceae).
Adult Food: Nectar from flowers including Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), petunia (Petunia hybrida), bouncing bet (Saponaria officinalis), tobacco (Nicotiana), and phlox (Phlox).
Habitat: Tobacco fields, vegetable gardens, and wherever host plants are found.
Range: Mexico north throughout most of the United States and occasionally southern Canada, but it is uncommon in the Southeast and the Great Plains.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: Caterpillars are pests on tomato and other plants in the nightshade family (Solanaceae).
Comments: NULL
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 659 verified sightings
Observation date: Jul 24, 2022
Submitted by: cdfrick
Region: Gove County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Feb 04, 2023
Observation date: Jul 16, 2022
Submitted by: J_Martineau
Region: Socorro County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Dec 07, 2022
Observation date: Aug 23, 2022
Submitted by: hasfitz5
Region: Cochise County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: John Saba
Verified date: Sep 18, 2022
Observation date: Aug 10, 2014
Submitted by: LLJohnson
Region: Dominican Republic
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Sep 14, 2022
Observation date: Sep 12, 2022
Submitted by: Andre Couturier
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Sep 12, 2022
Observation date: Aug 20, 2022
Submitted by: Swinghammer
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 20, 2022
Observation date: Apr 27, 2019
Submitted by: afujimoto
Region: San Bernardino County, California, United States
Verified by: mcduck
Verified date: Jun 03, 2022
Observation date: Aug 12, 2018
Submitted by: Devkopp
Region: San Bernardino County, California, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Feb 22, 2022
Observation date: Aug 13, 2010
Submitted by: Alan Harvey
Region: Bulloch County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Feb 18, 2022
Observation date: Jul 28, 2016
Submitted by: energythief
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Feb 12, 2022
Observation date: Aug 14, 2021
Submitted by: billd
Region: Garfield County, Oklahoma, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Jan 21, 2022
Observation date: Jul 16, 2018
Submitted by: Allen B
Region: Ocean County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: Allen B
Verified date: Jan 13, 2022
Observation date: Aug 21, 2019
Submitted by: DBradley
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: BarbSendelbach
Verified date: Jan 09, 2022
Observation date: Jul 29, 2021
Submitted by: J_Martineau
Region: Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Dec 17, 2021
Observation date: Sep 20, 2019
Submitted by: atrend467
Region: New York County, New York, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Oct 27, 2021
Observation date: Oct 20, 2021
Submitted by: dougnamy1
Region: Douglas County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Oct 26, 2021
Observation date: Jul 23, 2020
Submitted by: agdesosa
Region: Los Angeles County, California, United States
Verified by: ishaan2009
Verified date: Oct 14, 2021
Observation date: Aug 23, 2021
Submitted by: Jennywren
Region: Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: Tom Middagh
Verified date: Sep 20, 2021
Observation date: Sep 09, 2021
Submitted by: Mapper
Region: Johnson County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 12, 2021
Observation date: Sep 12, 2021
Submitted by: Darrin Frye
Region: Frederick County, Maryland, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 12, 2021
Observation date: Aug 24, 2014
Submitted by: IanH
Region: Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Sep 09, 2021
Observation date: Aug 13, 2014
Submitted by: Lilia Beltran
Region: Otero County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Sep 06, 2021
Observation date: Jun 22, 2021
Submitted by: ObserverofGod'sart
Region: Bexar County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Aug 14, 2021
Observation date: Jul 06, 2021
Submitted by: Christinahat
Region: Denver County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Jul 25, 2021
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