Carolina Sphinx Moth Caterpillar

Carolina Sphinx Caterpillar, Manduca sexta.  Despite the scary-looking horn, this hawk moth larva is harmless.

His story could be a graphic novel.  

Our innocent protagonist is orphaned, unloved and shunned.   If you cast eyes upon him, you might describe him as interestingly attractive, but others look at him with fear, even loathing.  He’s marked for death, although he doesn’t know why.  In order to survive, he must hide and he must steal food.  This fellow has no weapons and will not fight.  Instinctively, he has an aptitude for disguise and stealth, but those abilities may not be enough to keep him alive.  Every moment, of every day or night, there is danger.  He can never relax. 

Food is so scarce, that if he loses his supply, he may starve.  There are people here that would battle him to the death for his food.  

He must avoid fearsome predators that that would literally devour him.  From his hiding place, he has watched as unfortunates have met their end. The ruthless raptors slash and dismember their victims’  bodies, then carry away the pieces.  It’s all too gruesome.  

There is yet another way to die that is slower and more dreadful.  He has seen a wasp that renders a violent sting, but it does not kill. At least, the victim does not die right away.  Those who have been stung develop ghastly, bulbous tumors all over their bodies.  As the growths swell, the tumors consume the victim who dies slowly, in terrible agony.

If by some amazing chance our hero can find enough food, avoid the competitors, and evade the predators, he will be in for a shock.  When he comes of age, he will undergo a bizarre, disfiguring mutation and gain a super power!  No one has warned him about this; he will have to suffer the pain of transformation and figure things out on his own. This is his family’s legacy.

Such is the secret identity of the Carolina Sphinx Moth caterpillar!  Despised by many gardeners, he is cursed with the epithet, "Tobacco Horn Worm".  Yet, as a beautiful and powerful adult, he is blessed with the sobriquet, "Hawk Moth" or perhaps, "Hummingbird Moth".  He is the size of a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird.   We admire this lovely pollinator in the evenings as he hovers at flowers, extending his long proboscis to sip nectar.  

The super power?  Tune in next week to find out…  Just  kidding.  Ok, the Sphinx Moth is the most powerful flyer of the entire order!  That’s right!  No other Lepidopteran is faster.  That means there is not a moth or butterfly that can out-fly a Sphinx Moth.   Super!   

Early Instar of Manduca sexta on Tomato leaf

Carolina Sphinx Moth Larva on Cherry Tomato.  I have enough to share.

Abdominal Prolegs of Manduca sexta.  Note the crochets, little hooks on the prolegs, that help the caterpillar grip the plant stem.

Carolina Sphinx Moth Frass on cucumber leaf.  Frass is usually the first clue of a caterpillar's location. This Caterpillar was on the Cherry tomatoes just above the cucumbers.

Head of Manduca sexta.  Six Thoracic legs are tucked under mandible.  He looks like a thoughtful professor.

Manduca sexta, Carolina Sphinx Caterpillar.  Note the camouflage:  color, texture, even the fine hairs on the caterpillar mimic the fine hair-like features of the Cherry Tomato stem.

Buckeye, Sulphur and Tawny Emperor

I have several pretty visitors to show you.

 

This is the Common Buckeye.  When I spot these, they are often on the ground or pavement, basking in the sun. This one was nectaring on yellow lantana when I photographed him.  Since I just planted some snapdragons, I was pleased to learn that snapdragons are one of their larval foods! 

 

 Yellow Butterflies! There are many different Sulphur butterflies in Galveston County.  Usually they are flying so quickly through my yard that I can only say with certainly, "It's a Sulphur."  This fellow basking on the Juniper was still long enough for a portrait. Some Sulphurs lay eggs on my Senna / Cassia tree.

 

This was a surprise sighting for me!  I looked up one morning (probably scanning for hawks) and saw a brown butterfly way up on the gutter.  This is a hackberry butterfly called a Tawny Emperor.  I do not have a hackberry tree in my yard, but I watched her sip condensation from the gutter, as she warmed in the sun.

Funereal Duskywing

This butterfly, nectaring from cosmos in my August garden, could be in formal attire or dressed in mourning colors with a white petticoat showing under the black dress.  It's the descriptively named  Funereal Duskywing with sooty wings and white fringe along the edges of the hindwing.  This lovely Funereal Duskywing , Erynnis funeralis,  is just one example of the skipper butterflies.  Taxonomists do not consider skippers to be “true” butterflies because they differ in so many ways.  For example, skippers look a little like moths with their stocky, feathery bodies and big, cute eyes.   The tip of a skipper’s  antennae has a curved, pointy club. To me it looks like a sickle or a pointed hockey stick.  True butterflies’ antennae do not curve back.   As this Duskywing demonstrates, skippers are usually cloaked in subdued shades of charcoal, chocolate, amber, copper, or bronze.   Larval host plants for the Funereal Duskywing include alfalfa,  indigo, vetch, and rattlebush.  Remember, if you want butterflies, you have to provide food for the babies and nectar for the adults.

Little Sulphurs

There have been clouds of these small, flitty sulphur butterflies on the prairie.  During our dry spell, the dainty insects gathered to sip moisture in the only place it could be found - in fresh cow manure.

Io Moth Rescue

My little mixed-breed dog was pretending to be a terrier.  He plowed through the Cosmos and Coreopsis looking for a rat. Alas, in the process, he trampled a beautiful Io Moth.  The moth tried to scare away my dog by displaying his eyespots - his only defense.  The behavior was actually helpful because the display allowed me to spot the moth and remove him from danger!   Automeris io is in the family of Giant Silk Moths, Saturniidae.  They make silk cocoons in the leaf litter, so this unfortunate male (males are yellow, females are ruddier) may have recently emerged.  The caterpillars use many kinds of trees for food - probably oak in my yard.  The adults exist only to reproduce and do not eat.  This fellow did have some wing damage, but he was able to fly from my hand and take cover in a shrub.  With his wings folded, he looked like a yellowed leaf and was well-hidden.  I love moths.