Tobacco hornworm
The tobacco hornworm is a big, bright green caterpillar with a red horn on its tail end. It has seven white stripes along each side. When it grows up, it turns into a moth called the Carolina sphinx.
How big is it?
How long is it?
How big is Tobacco hornworm compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
Its blood has a blue colour in it. Mixed with the yellow colour from the leaves it eats, the caterpillar looks green.
When it is raised in a lab on wheat food instead of leaves, it turns turquoise.
Its whole life, from egg to moth, can take only 30 to 50 days.
Just before it turns into a pupa, you can see its long heart beating through its skin.
Scientists love studying it because it is big and grows up fast.
Most asked questions about Tobacco hornworm
?Does the tobacco hornworm sting?
No. Its red horn looks scary but it is harmless.
?What does a tobacco hornworm turn into?
A big moth called the Carolina sphinx moth.
?How do you tell a tobacco hornworm from a tomato hornworm?
The tobacco hornworm has seven straight white stripes and a red horn. The tomato hornworm has V-shaped marks and a dark horn.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Manduca sexta
- Named by
- Linnaeus, 1763
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Sphingidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Sphingidae
- Lives on
- North America, South America
- Also known as
- Carolina sphinx moth, Tobacco hawk moth, Goliath worm
Where the facts come from
- Manduca sexta (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by unknown author. CC0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
Atlas moth
Luna moth
Hummingbird hawk-moth
Domestic silk moth
Isabella tiger moth
Polyphemus moth
Queen of Spain fritillary
Cabbage fly
Hunt's bumblebee
Plum curculio
Thick-legged hoverfly
Red pierrot