Guadeloupe, Les Saintes, Terre-de-Bas, 15-VII-85

Manduca sexta (Linnaeus 1763)

ssp. luciae (Johanssen 1764)

Biology and distribution

Larva on wild or cultivated Solanaceae (tobacco, tomato, Solanum spp., Capsicum spp.) and Verbenaceae.

Fairly common in xerophilic zone of Guadeloupe and Martinique.
Les Saintes: Terre-de-Bas, St-Martin, St-Bartholomew, Marie-Galante.

Throughout the Antilles.

Throughout the American continent: ssp. sexta (L.), paphus (Cramer 1779), caestri (Blanchard 1854).

Legend

Pheromone

Manduca sexta is a classical model in neurophysiology.

The sex pheromone produced by the female moths has been described (Tumlinson et al., 1989, Arch. insect Biochem. Physiol., 10: 255-271.). It consists of:

• (E,E,Z)-10,12,14-hexadecatrienal: 11,3%
• (E,E,E)-10,12,14-hexadecatrienal: 1,2%
• (E,,Z)-10,12-hexadecadienal: 3,9%
• (Z)-11-hexadecenal: 13,4%
• (E)-11-hexadecenal: 6,8%
• (Z)-9-hexadecenal: 0,8%
• Hexadecanal: 15,7%
• (Z,,Z)-11,13-octadecadienal: 1,4%
• (Z)-13-octadecenal: 2,2%
• (Z)-11-octadecenal: 6,2%
• Octadecanal: 4,8%

Similar species

Manduca rustica (3 pairs of yellow patches on the abdomen)

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