Buy Tobacco Leaf Online | Whole Leaf Tobacco

strange new creature in my rustica

Status
Not open for further replies.

SmokesAhoy

Moderator
Founding Member
Joined
May 22, 2011
Messages
2,686
Points
0
Location
VT
When I got home this morning I saw what I thought was a hummingbird dipping its long beak into the rustica flowers. As I got closer I noticed it had antennae too. Wth was this strange creature so I searched for hummingbird moth. Sure enough that's exactly what it was.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummingbird_hawk-moth
IMG_20170806_053932.jpg
IMG_20170806_053944.jpg
IMG_20170806_054043.jpg
IMG_20170806_054050.jpg
IMG_20170806_053959.jpg
 

OldDinosaurWesH

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2017
Messages
958
Points
93
Location
Dayton Wa.
Your photo looks suspiciously like one of the Sphinx moths. Family Sphingidae. There are something like 1,450 species. Some of which are potentially devastating to tobacco. The larval form is the one that does all the damage. Hopefully, some of the other members might be able to give you a better identification. It could be nothing, and it could be a problem. I don't know enough about these particular critters to say. Good luck!

Old DinosaurWesH
 

SmokesAhoy

Moderator
Founding Member
Joined
May 22, 2011
Messages
2,686
Points
0
Location
VT
You're right, what I posted was a European moth, that should be a Sphinx moth since I'm in ’Murica.
 

SmokesAhoy

Moderator
Founding Member
Joined
May 22, 2011
Messages
2,686
Points
0
Location
VT
Holy crap that means I've got hornworms like you guys, crap! Lol
 

SmokesAhoy

Moderator
Founding Member
Joined
May 22, 2011
Messages
2,686
Points
0
Location
VT
The adult form is such a cute bug though, a shame if we meet again I'm gonna hit it with an electric bug swatter.
 

deluxestogie

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
May 25, 2011
Messages
23,929
Points
113
Location
near Blacksburg, VA
That's such a sweet picture. It's blurry, but it is probably Manduca sexta taking advantage of last call to have a final sip of sweet tobacco nectar, just before making babies.

Look for these:

Garden20140625_1262_pestFest_hornwormEgg_closeup_500.jpg

Hornworm eggs are individual, and the size of Lincoln's chin (on a penny).

Bob
[It's almost as though Vermont is one of the contiguous 48 states!] I've whacked a sphinx moth using a full swing on a fly swatter. They fall to the ground, look around, give me the finger, then fly away.
 

Charly

Moderator
Joined
May 1, 2016
Messages
2,209
Points
113
Location
France
Smokes, I have exactly the same beautiful bug in my garden from time to time (in France) (the pictures and the link you provided in the first post are exactly what I see on my flowers).
It's such a nice bug that I won't destroy it (I did not see it on my tobacco, mostly on other flowers in my garden.
It often comes in my garden in the end of the afternoon.
 

deluxestogie

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
May 25, 2011
Messages
23,929
Points
113
Location
near Blacksburg, VA
Same here on the Alps, but I see many more bumblebees... especially on rusticas, they seem to love the ugly smell
The anatomy of a bumblebee won't allow it to retrieve nectar from the elongated blossom of Nicotiana tabacum, but N. rustica blossoms are nice and short.

The sphinx moth (or hawk moth) is specially equipped.

manduca_rustica_lg.jpg

Sphinx moth with proboscis fully extended. (https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/pollinator-of-the-month/hawk_moths.shtml)

Bob

[I've moved this thread to the Tobacco Pests section.]
 

Alpine

Moderator
Joined
Aug 16, 2015
Messages
1,919
Points
113
Location
Eastern alps, near Trento, Italy
Although they are not "real" pests... at least the European hummingbird moth. A quick search on Wikipedia (for what it's worth) revealed that the bugs don't feed on tobacco...


pier
 

SmokesAhoy

Moderator
Founding Member
Joined
May 22, 2011
Messages
2,686
Points
0
Location
VT
Don't feed on tobacco? Even in the caterpillar stage? I'm arming for war here, I doubt my moth is nearly so docile as it's European doppelganger.

I've seen a big caterpillar once or twice before in 5 or 6 years of growing tobacco, and I don't remember what the horn color was but it was on tomatoes of I'm remembering right.
 

Alpine

Moderator
Joined
Aug 16, 2015
Messages
1,919
Points
113
Location
Eastern alps, near Trento, Italy
I was talking about the European hummingbird moth. American cousins definitely feed on tobacco. Arm yourself well and remember the Latin motto "si vis pacem para bellum"


Pier
 

GeraldMcLane

Member
Joined
Aug 28, 2018
Messages
11
Points
1
Location
USA
These Sphinx moths are very troublesome, especially for our plants. Are there any easy DIY methods to get rid of them asap, so that they do not cause any harm to our plants?
 

deluxestogie

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
May 25, 2011
Messages
23,929
Points
113
Location
near Blacksburg, VA
BT preparations (Bacillus thurnigensis), sprayed on the leaves at weekly intervals will kill the hornworm (Hawk moth) larvae. There are a number of commercial products containing the bacterium. It's harmless to insects (not in larval form) and birds and mammals. It cost money and time, but is "easy".

Plan B, which is my plan (I grow 100-200 plants per season), is to walk the tobacco daily, inspecting every leaf. I search for pinholes, then look at the underside. A 1st instar hornworm larva is bright green, and smaller than a grain of rice. I squish them. Any larger ones I remove from the leaf, and squish on the ground.

Garden20140624_1256_pestFest_hornwormInTheHand_600.jpg


You can also sometimes see the hornworm eggs before they hatch. They are individual, usually, but not always, on the underside of the leaf. They are a bright, iridescent green, and are the size of Lincoln's chin on a US penny. You have to carefully pluck them off, and apply very firm pressure on them, between the tip of your thumb and index finger, to pop them. They're not particularly messy.

Garden20140625_1262_pestFest_hornwormEgg_500.jpg


Here in southwest Virginia, hornworms begin to appear in mid to late June, peak over about 5 days, then wane. Each summer I experience 3 waves of hornworms, usually at intervals of about 3 weeks. This summer, I saw a fairly abortive 4th wave in late August.

Bob
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top