Detailed information on Five-spotted hawkmoth, Tomato Hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculata)

G

GeorgeSMyers

Bronx, NY | August 2019 | Neutral

We have them in The Bronx, NYC on our tomatoes. I have a camera that detects movement and the hawkmoth, others have been hummingbird hawk moth in daylight, seems to prefer to fly at night and might be attracted to the infra-red LEDs on the camera. I thought it was a small bat, its wings "too fast" for digital video. Solved my bat thing, but there are at least seven species of bats observed in the Bronx. My friend sprayed for white flies and picked off the hornworm.

H

HefesWife77

Hobart, IN (Zone 6a) | September 2009 | Positive

We found these critters eating our tomato plants in crazy fast time! Took only a few days for 2 caterpillars to take out our small garden of tomato plants. Now they have become the highlight of my daughters' (2 & 5yrs) attention. We fashioned a cage for them and stocked them with tomato leaves. The caterpillars have only been in there for a day or so and seem to be getting ready to make their change. Can't wait to see the moths and add them to our bug collection!!

t

teresacrooks

Lake Mary, FL | June 2008 | Negative

Last Fall, I found three cacoons for a huge moth at the base of my duranta and searched for weeks because I never saw the cats on the duranta although it did decline and eventually die from the attack. I never found any moth that showed the duranta as a host so I was never really sure. I let those live and hatch but never saw the actual moths either so wasn't sure but thought it was a tersa sphinx moth. I have been planting at my home all last Fall and this Spring, spending hundreds of dollars and in the past two days, I pulled 10 tomato hornworms off my three georgeous new double purple "ballerina" daturas, didn't have a clue they would be bait for the moths when they hatched! Now my daturas are destroyed and I have seven brugmansias that will be next if I don't do something!!! UGH!! ... read more

J

Julieee

Austin, TX | June 2008 | Negative

Just found two caterpillers on a couple of my tomato plants and tossed 'em to the birds. They'd almost completely defoliated my Cosmonaut Volkov's, and were moving on to the Purple Cherokee and the Aunt Lillian's Yellow when I finally spotted 'em. perhaps they have been doing their jobs and that's why I had only two. Destructive little buggers, beautiful though they might be. I agree, Death to Tomato Hornworms!

L

Lily_love

Central, AL (Zone 7b) | December 2007 | Positive

I don't mind the caterpillars. It's very interesting to watch their behavior. I was their advocate long before I knew what they would morphed into a helpful Moth that helps pollinate many of your flowers in the garden. I love tomatoes too, but my neighbor raise better crop of tomatoes, and the supermarkets also are doing their very best to provide wonderful tomatoes for consumption. My volunteered tomatoes are there for their (moths) enjoyment. Infact, if you raise brugs, planting tomatoes to divert the moths to your fast growing tomatoe plants while keeping your brugs for your enjoyment - now, that isn't a bad idea!

d

domino1718

Aurora, NE | October 2007 | Positive

I found him in me and my gradmas garden, and i just love watching him and watching him eat. he eats so fast he seems like hes on staroids!!!! when he eats tomatos
hahaha lol

k

kmom246

Murfreesboro, TN (Zone 7a) | September 2007 | Positive

I have grown "sacrificial" tomato plants for these beauties for the last few years. When I find a cat on the "people" plants, they go to the "cat" plants. That way I can enjoy my toms and the moths both. I have seen them drinking nectar off of my sunflowers at dusk. My sunflower leaves also have holes in them and frass that looks awfully suspicious - it may be that sunflowers are hosts, also, although I have not actually seen any cats on them.

T

TexasPuddyPrint

Edinburg, TX | April 2007 | Positive

Can't help but be amazed at the size of this moth. About the only time I see them is when they come to the security light and perch on the brickwork. The caterpillars are voracious eaters and can do some serious damage to tomato plants...but I don't mind...I don't like tomatoes :o)

~ Cat

W

Whitewidower

Greensboro, AL | February 2007 | Negative

I think what I will do this year when I find these things on my tomato plant I will save them and see if they make good fishing worms. My Grandboys will live to test this for me. I hate to see the damage they do to my tomatos.

G

Greenthumbe

Scripps Ranch, (San Diego), CA (Zone 9b) | September 2006 | Negative

This grotesque thing is awful. It comes right in and chows down on my tomatos I worked so hard for. They are extreemly destructive. Death to tomato hornworms.

m

mummu

Lebanon, ME (Zone 4b) | August 2006 | Negative

Actually, I love to watch the moths and have up til recently welcomed them in my flower garden UNTIL I found out about their children. My 2nd most hated garden foe (after Japanese Beetles) is the tomato hornworm. I picked at least a hundred over a week's time off my 16 tomato plants. They tried to bite me, some did, and my chickens wouldn't even eat them when I collected a few dozen for them as a treat. So I gave up and Rotenoned them. I try to be an organic gardener as much as possible, but this year there were no little white eggs attached to even one hornworm. So next year I'll move the tomatoes again and hope for the best. I still like to watch the moths.

d

delmarvalicious

Bethel, DE | August 2006 | Positive

I found this Five Spotted Hawkmoth in my Dad's garden in Sussex County Delaware about dusk and was very lucky to capture it in flight. What an interesting moth.I was amazed to see how long the proboscis is. It's too funny, where he was feeding was less than 20 feet from my fathers 9 foot tall tomato plants!! I'm going to try and upload some pictures. Enjoy!!

m

melody

Benton, KY (Zone 7a) | August 2006 | Negative

Since my favorite plant to grow is the tomato, I can't stand these caterpillars. They can strip a tomato plant overnight and cause plenty of damage to other Solanaceae.

The only way they don't get squished, is when they are sporting the wasp pupae. I simply remove them from the veggie garden and let them exist to produce more wasps. They're goners in a few days anyway, and if they can't get to my tomato plants, then I figure the wasps will hatch and go find other Tomato Hornworms.

k

kennedyh

(Zone 10a) | July 2006 | Negative

This lovely hawkmoth is unfortunately a major pest of Tomato plants. It's caterpillar is commonly known as the Tomato Hornworm.

o

onalee

Brooksville, FL (Zone 9a) | July 2006 | Positive

I LOVE to watch the hawkmoths in my yard, and the five-spotted hawkmoth is one of the most common ones I have. They are amazing to watch, like little hummingbirds (also called hummingbird moths) dashing from flower to flower in the early evening and night time hours. I always make sure I plant plenty of host and nectar plants for them (which can often be the same plant - they love datura and brugmansia for both host and larval foods!).

Five-spotted hawkmoth, Tomato Hornworm

Manducaquinquemaculata

Featured Videos