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Species Manduca rustica - Rustic Sphinx - Hodges#7778

Rustic Sphinx - Manduca rustica Manduca - Manduca rustica Green Night Monster - Manduca rustica Rustic Sphinx? - Manduca rustica Very Large Caterpillar - Manduca rustica Desert Willow Tree - Sphinginae hornworm (type?) - Manduca rustica Manduca rustica ? - Manduca rustica Manduca rustica?   - Manduca rustica
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Bombycoidea (Silkworm, Sphinx, and Royal Moths)
Family Sphingidae (Sphinx Moths)
Subfamily Sphinginae
Tribe Sphingini
Genus Manduca
Species rustica (Rustic Sphinx - Hodges#7778)
Hodges Number
7778
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Manduca rustica (Fabricius, 1775)
Phylogenetic sequence # 226475
Size
Wingspan: 87 - 150 mm
Identification
Larval ID: note the extremely granulated horn (1)
Range
Mostly e. US to AZ, West Indies, and Mexico to Argentina. - Map (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (2)
Season
Adults are most common from April to November.
Heppner (2003) recorded adults in Florida the month of February, and from May to November. (2)
Food
Many larval hosts in several plants families:
Asteraceae - common sunflower (Helianthus annuus)
Bignoniaceae - bignonia (Bignonia), desert willow (Chilopsis linearis), Cape honeysuckle (Tecoma capensis)
Boraginaceae - knockaway (Ethretia anacua), heliotrope (Heliotropium) Bahama Strongbark (Bourreria succulenta)
Lamiaceae - forked bluecurls (Trichostema dichotomum)
Lythraceae - crapemyrtle (Lagerstroemia indica)
Oleaceae - jasmine (Jasminum), ash (Fraxinus), white fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus), privet (Ligustrum), common lilac (Syringa vulgaris)
Verbenaceae - American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), lantana (Lantana camara), bushy lippie (Lippia alba)
Life Cycle
Life cycle images:
larva; larva burrowing into soil; larva ready to pupate; pupa; adult
See Also
Pawpaw Sphinx--Dolba hyloeus
Print References
Covell Jr, C.V. 1984. A Field Guide to the Moths of Eastern North America. Houghton Mifflin Company. p.32, pl.3.8 (9)
Hodges, R.W., 1971. The Moths of America North of Mexico, Fascicle 21: 33; pl. 1.5. (10)
Powell, J.A. & P.A. Opler 2009. Moths of Western North America. University of California. p.244, pl.40.9m (11)
Tuttle, J.P., 2007. Hawk Moths of North America, 51; pl. 8.7. (12)
Wagner, D.L., 2005. Caterpillars of Eastern North America, p. 249. (1)