1/31/2024 0 Comments Pellucid hawk moth 3The species Xanthopan morganii praedicta, named in honour of its predicted existence by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, exclusively pollinates the Madagascar orchid, Angraecum sesquipedale. The proboscis of this hawk moth is long enough to reach the nectar receptacle of the orchid, which is between 20 and 35 cm (8 and 14 inches) in length. The leaf-feeding larva generally has a smooth body with a characteristic dorsal caudal horn, hence the common name hornworm. Two economically destructive North American species, the tobacco, or southern, hornworm ( Manduca sexta) and the tomato, or northern, hornworm ( M. quinquemaculata), attack tomato, tobacco, and potato crops. These leaf-feeding pests are green and can be 10 cm (4 inches) long. Control includes the use of a natural enemy, the braconid wasp ( Apanteles congregatus), which parasitizes the larvae. Pupation occurs in an earthen cell or loose cocoon at the soil surface.Moths live in a wide variety of habitats around the world. They usually go unnoticed, except when flying erratically around your porch light, a streetlight, or other source of light during the darkness of night. Perhaps you notice their handiwork when you find small holes in a woolen garment stored in your closet or you find your tomato plants consumed by a hungry tomato hornworm. Most moths work the night shift, unlike their “respectable cousins” the butterflies, which are out during the daytime, and glorified in prose, poetry, and art. They get little respect, except from the relatively few scientists and naturalists who are passionate about their study and who study moths and their ways.ĭo you remember the monsters under your bed? Unfortunately, we usually vilify moths because of their association with the dark of night and our innate fear of darkness and things that go bump in the night. Moths represent a biological storehouse of interesting, dramatic, and unusual behaviors, some with roles as pollinators, and others as food for other animals. All have interesting stories to tell if we will only take the time to stop, look, listen and smell the hidden world of moths and their flowers. Planting moonlight or a fragrance garden is a sure way to enjoy not only these wonderful blossoms, but also their nocturnal pollinators, especially the giant hawk moths. Some of the largest moths in the world belong to the hawk moth or Sphingid family within the order Lepidoptera (the animal order that includes butterflies and moths). These magnificent animals have long narrow wings and thick bodies. They are fast flyers and often highly aerobatic. Some can briefly fly backwards or dart away. Hawk moths are experts at finding sweet-smelling flowers after dark. They are especially fond of Datura (Jimpson weeds), Mirabilis (Four O’clocks), and Peniocereus (Queen-of-the-night cactus) blossoms. These flowers are highly fragrant with long floral tubes concealing pools of thin but abundant nectar. Hawk moths have the world’s longest tongues of any other moth or butterfly (some up to 14 inches long).
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