Big Moth I found Tonight.

[biznacho]

I found a really big moth tonight in the rain gutter. I was hoping someone could give me an ID for it. I captured it in an tall deli cup and took some pics before letting it go back into the yard.

It measured approx. 2 inches "nose to tail." I forgot to get a wingspan measurement. Here's a couple pics.

biznacho

 

[Galapoheros]

It's a sphinx moth. Looks like what people call a Tobacco Hornworm moth or Tomato moth. It's caterpillar is what everyone tries to keep off their tomato plants..the "Tomato worm". I could be wrong....... Manduca quinquemaculata.

 

[brachy]

I love his big moths. Very nice.

 

[fantasticp]

It's a sphinx moth. Looks like what people call a Tobacco Hornworm moth or Tomato moth. It's caterpillar is what everyone tries to keep off their tomato plants..the "Tomato worm". I could be wrong....... Manduca quinquemaculata.

I agree. Looks like a 5 spotted hawkmoth from a tomato hornworm.

 

[biznacho]

Cool. Thanks for the quick ID.

Do they regularly get this large? and where is a good place to look for them? besides my rain gutters.

biznacho

 

[Galapoheros]

Grow some tomato plants. Since the moth is in your area, You will probably see the caterpillars on the plants eventually. I have some citrus trees in pots and have Tiger Swallowtail caterpillars on them right now. Sphinx moth caterpillars pupate in the ground. The moths could be anywhere, but the caterpillars don't have the luxury of having wings and will be pretty isolated to being on the plants.

 

[oxbaker]

I caught one of these at work tonight. It was trapped in the building so I grabbed it before it killed itself by bashing off the walls. What do the adults eat? I've never much thought about the diet of Sphinx moths and I have it sitting right beside me.

 

[Stylopidae]

Manduca sexta is the scientiffic name.

You can buy the larvae under the name goliath hornworm. Don't feed this one to any of your animals, it's toxic because it's been feeding on tomatoes or tobacco.