Manduca rustica rustica female courtesy of David Liebman.

This site has been created by Bill Oehlke at oehlkew@islandtelecom.com
Comments, suggestions and/or additional information are welcomed by Bill.

TAXONOMY: Family: Sphingidae, Latreille, 1802 Subfamily: Sphinginae, Latreille, [1802] Tribe: Sphingini, Latreille, 1802 Genus: Manduca Hubner, [1807] ........... Species: rustica rustica (Fabricius, 1775)

MIDI MUSIC .....It's a Wonderful World..... copyright C. Odenkirk ON.OFF <bgsound src="world.mid" LOOP=FOREVER>

DISTRIBUTION:

The Rustic Sphinx, Manduca rustica rustica (Wing span: 3 7/16 - 5 15/16 inches (8.7 - 15 cm)), flies in warm temperate, subtropical, and tropical forests and second growth woodlands from Virginia to south Florida, west to Arkansas, Texas, southern New Mexico, Arizona, and southern California and Puerto Rico and Cuba, and then further south through Central America to Brazil: Paraiba (AvB), Mato Grosso (JvB), Para, Roraima; Bolivia and Uruguay.

There are valid reports from the provinces of Argentina: Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Corrientes, Chaco, Entre Rios, Formosa, Jujuy, Misiones, Salta, Santiago del Estero, Tucumin.

Visit Manduca rustica, Cordoba, Argentina, courtesy of Dr. Carlos Marzano.

Visit Manduca rustica, Osununu Private Reserve, Misiones, Argentina, October 14, 2009, courtesy of Ezequiel Bustos.

This species occasionally strays to Maine, Massachusetts, and New York. I never saw one in New Jersey.

In Central America it has been reported in the following locations:
Mexico;
Belize: Corozol, Cayo, Stann Creek, Toledo;
Nicaragua: Chinandega, Leon, Managua, Masaya, Granada, Rivas, Chontales, Zelaya, Rio San Juan;
Guatemala: Izabal (JM)
Costa Rica: Guanacaste, Puntarenas, Alajuela, San Jose, Lemon, Heredia;
Panama.

The abdomen of the adult moth has three pairs of yellow spots. The upperside of the forewing is yellowish brown to deep chocolate brown with a dusting of white scales and zigzagged black and white lines.

Manduca rustica female, courtesy of Hubert Mayer.

FLIGHT TIMES:

Manduca rustica rustica adults fly as several broods from May-October in Louisiana. There are two broods from July-November in the rest of the northern range. In Costa Rica moths have been seen every month of the year with the biggest flight in May June.

In Bolivia January-February-March-April, June, October and December with both males and females coming to lights. Johan van't Bosch reports a September flight in Mato Grosso, Brazil.

Manduca rustica, on moonflower, San Antonio, Texas,
November 12, 2003, courtesy of Jay Chapman.

ECLOSION:

Pupae probably wiggle to surface from subterranean chambers just prior to eclosion.

Manduca rustica rustica female courtesy of Dan Janzen.

SCENTING AND MATING:

Females call in the males with a pheromone released from a gland at the tip of the abdomen. Adults begin feeding from deep-throated flowers including moonflower (Calonyction aculeatum) and petunia (Petunia species) late at night, around 10 P.M.

EGGS, LARVAE, PUPAE:

Larvae feed on fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus) and jasmine (Jasminum species) in the olive family (Oleaceae), and on bushy matgrass (Lippia alba) and Aloysia wrightii in the vervain family (Verbenaceae), and on knockaway (Ehretia anacua) in the borage family (Boraginaceae), and on Bignonia species like Desert willow (Chilopsis linearis) in the Bignoniaceae family.

"Manduca rustica, Tucson, Arizona, November, on desert willow, David Bygott

Larvae have also been reported on Tecoma stans, Callicarpa americana, Fraxinus, Helianthus annuus, Heliotropium, Lagerstroemia indica, Lantana camara, Ligustrum japonicum, Ligustrum ovalifolium, Plumeria acuminata, Plumeria alba, Ligustrum vulgare, Sesamum indicum, Syringa vulgaris, Trichostema dichotomum, Annona squamosa, Gossypium herbaceum and Himatanthus sucuuba.

Visit Manduca rustica, Dog Canyon, otero County, New Mexico, on Desert Willow, (Chilopsis linearis), August 24, 2009, Bob Barber.

Visit Manduca rustica fifth instar, Chandler, Maricopa County, Arizona, October 8, 2009, courtesy of T. J. Robb.

The caterpillar has numerous white nodules on top of the thorax and seven pairs of oblique, blue-gray stripes along the side of the body. The horn is white at the base and blue-gray at the tip. Host plants also include Crossvine, bignonias, and various members of the forget-me-not and vervain families. Alice Gilliland reports one feeding on gardenia in Chapel Hill, Orange County, North Carolina.

Larvae pupate on their backs in subterranean chambers. Larvae and pupa images courtesy of Bruce Walsh.

Heavily parasitized Manduca rustica, Florida,
courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Occasionally an almost black form of the larva is encountered.

Manduca rustica, dark (unusual) fifth instar, Patagonia, Santa Cruz Co., Arizona,
on buddleia bush, September 20, 2008, courtesy of Philip Kline.

I received another report of a black larva from Gary Vernon in Midlothian, Texas. Gary reports that it was also feeding on butterfly plant. Perhaps there is a correlation between host plant and likelihood of the appearance of the dark form.

Use your browser "Back" button to return to the previous page.

Return to Sphingidae Index
Return to Sphingini Tribe

Use your browser "Back" button to return to the previous page.

This page is brought to you by Bill Oehlke and the WLSS. Pages are on space rented from Bizland. If you would like to become a "Patron of the Sphingidae Site", contact Bill.

Please send sightings/images to Bill. I will do my best to respond to requests for identification help.

Enjoy one of nature's wonderments: Live Saturniidae (Giant Silkmoth) cocoons.

Show appreciation for this site by clicking on flashing butterfly to the left. The link will take you to a page with links to many insect sites.