"Tomato hornworm" emerged from cocoon...

[Teal]

... looking like this.

My internet searches thus far... don't turn up anything similar. Is this in any way, shape or form normal?! It is still alive, 24 hours later... so I also need to figure out what to feed it. ANY help would be appreciated...

 

[Cavedweller]

Didn't this happen to Heimlich at the end of A Bug's Life?

Edit: I don't know much about these guys, but maybe you could try offering it both leaves and nectar and see which one it goes for?

 

[Necromion]

if its wings were more shriveled and misshappen i might say vestigial wing morph (still possible but i havent seen this in a moth yet so i cant say) as for what to feed it, I would try sugar water in a dish with some cotton balls in it s the moth doesnt drown.

 

[Teal]

Thanks Necromion! He had ample drying room, these are just... all the wings he had!

He was fluttering about on the ground like mad, so I picked an array of flowers from the yard and put them into his enclosure before coming to see if there were any responses here... I'll get together some sugar water in the morning if he doesn't show interest in the flowers.

I keep calling it a "he" but the antennae would suggest it being a "she", correct? Though I really don't know if I can base any decisions off a physical aspect of the poor thing...

 

[bugmankeith]

To expand their wings they must climb up something, and the gravity makes the wings start to expand and go down as they pump, on the ground this doesn't usually work right which might explain what happened, or lack of humidity. Also, that doesn't look anything like a tomato hornworm moth, its supposed to be gray and yellow on abdomen.

 

[spiderfield]

Definitely not a tomato hornworm. Wing color and pattern suggest Pachysphinx occidentalis and tip of abdomen suggests female as well. Sphinx moths are subterranean pupators so they need something to climb onto and hang from to fully expand their wings after emerging. In terms of feeding, provide a sugar-water solution and carefully unfurl its proboscis with a pin and submerge the tip. Sphinx moths, as far as I know, only feed in flight, so you'll have to help her along. If you can get her to feed, you may get her healthy enough to "scent" and attract a mate. Good luck!

Regards,
Ryan

 

[bugmankeith]

I fed mine water with sugar and used q tips since they can drink the trapped water. Hummingbird nectar probably works good too.

 

[Teal]

Not a tomato hornworm moth? So sphinx moth caterpillars look identical to tomato hornworms then? I have pictures of the worm on my computer... I will post them when I get home.[\b]

 

[bugmankeith]

Not a tomato hornworm moth? So sphinx moth caterpillars look identical to tomato hornworms then? I have pictures of the worm on my computer... I will post them when I get home.[\b]

Tomato hornworm is one of many species of sphinx moths, there are many different sphinx moths. Only the tobacco and tomato hornworm eat tomato plants.

 

[spiderfield]

Not a tomato hornworm moth? So sphinx moth caterpillars look identical to tomato hornworms then? I have pictures of the worm on my computer... I will post them when I get home.[\b]

Correct, a majority of sphinx moth larvae will have a small projection from their last abdominal segment. Have you been able to get yours to feed yet?

Regards,
Ryan

 

[Teal]

I pulled the worm off one of my tomato plants. I can't find the pictures right now either >.< But if they look similar, then I am sure I am wrong! lol.

She hasn't fed yet... but I am going to mix her up some fresh sugar water right now. Could I try giving her hummingbird nectar, too?

 

[spiderfield]

Yes, hummingbird nectar should work fine.

 

[ZergFront]

I'd be interested in seeing how "functional" she was as well. Sometimes things like this are caused by a hormonal disorder so they aren't quite a mature moth/butterfly but also not quite a larva. Had a tussock moth like this - the wings were vestigial and even the legs were very short; almost useless for walking. Didn't live long so I think it also might have had some internal abnormalities. Your's might not even be fertile but you can test it. She just might stay immature.

Maybe on a not-too-cold night, you could put her in a very well ventilated cage and see if her pheramones (if she has any) bring in males. Then you can capture the males you see hover around, pair them up with her and release them.

 

[Louise E. Rothstein]

If an environmental mistake prevented the moth's wings from expanding any offspring would be able to produce normal wings if the original mistake was corrected before they matured.
Since sphinx moths tend to become large and impressive that might be well worth your while.
Beautiful specimens-you might well want them.

A mutation in favor of reduced wings is far less likely than an environmental cause.
However,if you do find yourself breeding flightless sphinx moths they will be easier to control and better "feeders" than flighted moths.

 

[CABIV]

I'm sure I'll get slapped for resurrecting an old thread (then again people search for this stuff), but from my experience, this was a premature hatching.

This happened to a lot of moths I had that tried to "overwinter" in my house when I was a kid. For many moths, not only is the light important, but also the temperature. Without a few "cold snaps", certain developmental changes do not get triggered. As a result, when "spring" conditions appeared, the moth was not fully formed, and still part "caterpillar" (long greenish abdomen, unfinished wings).