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Manduca quinquemaculata, the five-spotted hawkmoth, is a brown and gray hawk moth of the family Sphingidae.The caterpillar, 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.
The adult moth has a wingspan up to 3 centimetres (1.2 in). The male has translucent wings, and the female is drab brown and gray, with yellow scales on her legs. The day-flying female is said to mimic a bee , complete with pollen sacs, and the male mimics a wasp .
The Sphingidae are a family of moths commonly called sphinx moths, also colloquially known as hawk moths, with many of their caterpillars known as hornworms. It includes about 1,450 species . [ 1 ] It is best represented in the tropics , but species are found in every region. [ 2 ]
The larvae are black with orange spots arranged in lines down the whole body. Their head's prothoracic shield, and the anal plate, are one color, either green or orange with small black dots. [3] A tail-like spine protruding from the back of the body is a typical for sphingid moth caterpillars, known as “hornworms”. [2]
Moth antennae are either filiform (thread like), unipectinate (comb like), bipectinate (feather like), hooked, clubbed, or thickened. [13]: 636 Bombyx mandarina is an example with bipectinate antennae. [17] Some moths have knobbed antennae akin to those of butterflies, such as the family Castniidae. [18]
Hyalophora cecropia, the cecropia moth, is North America's largest native moth. [1] It is a member of the family Saturniidae , or giant silk moths. Females have been documented with a wingspan of five to seven inches (13 to 18 cm) or more.
Luna moth larvae have displayed defenses against predators in late instars by developing spines once they reach about 3 cm in length. Unlike other species such as Automeris io, which have chemical defenses much earlier in the larval stage, the Luna moth larvae are left largely defenseless until it reaches this length. However, the absence of a ...
The larvae of G. mellonella are also often used as a model organism in research. The greater wax moth is well known for its parasitization of honeybees and their hives. [1] [2] Because of the economic loss caused by this species, several control methods including heat treatment and chemical fumigants such as carbon dioxide have been used. [3]