Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Sphingidae Members:	Manduca Members:	58 NC Records

Manduca rustica (Fabricius, 1775) - Rustic Sphinx

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Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Bombycoidea

Family:
Sphingidae

Subfamily:
Sphinginae

Tribe:
Sphingini

P3 Number:
890092

MONA Number:
7778.00

Comments: A large Neotropical genus (63 species) of which 4 occur in North Carolina.

Species Status: Barcodes indicate that Manduca rustica is a single, well-defined species in our area.

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)

Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD

Technical Description, Adults: Forbes (1948); Hodges (1971); Tuttle (2007)

Technical Description, Immature Stages: Forbes (1948); Wagner (2005); Tuttle (2007)

Adult Markings: A large moth with a strikingly pattern of brown and white patches, overlaid by fine scalloped brown lines; has a small white discal spot. One of the largest members of the genus, this handsome moth always attracts attention. It is much larger than Dolba hyloeus which has a similar pattern.

Wingspan: 8.7 - 15 cm (Covell, 1984)

Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.

Immatures and Development: Larvae are green with the typical pattern of pale lateral lines, but with distinctive raised granules on the thorax, along the lines, and on the tail (Forbes, 1948; Wagner, 2005).

Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution: Most of our records -- including all recent ones -- come from the Coastal Plain.

County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.


Flight Dates: High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft. Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft. Piedmont (Pd) Coastal Plain (CP) Click on graph to enlarge
Immature Dates: High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft. Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft. Piedmont (Pd) Coastal Plain (CP) Click on graph to enlarge
Flight Comments: Appears to have just one flight period in the late summer.

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Most commonly found in wooded areas but likely to occur around any strong source of light as the species is a strong flyer.

Larval Host Plants: Larvae are polyphagous, feeding primarily on the Bignoniaceae, but also recorded from a wide array of plants. Among the reported hosts are Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata), Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus), ash (Fraxinus), sunflower (Helianthus), and privet (Ligustrum) (Wagner, 2005; Mejia et al., 2020). In North Carolina, larvae have frequently been recorded feeding on American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), with other records including Fringetree, Lantana, Gardenia, Buddleja, and privet. - View

Observation Methods: Adults commonly come to flowers at dusk; periwinkle is a favorite. Attracted to lights, especially strong lights such as mercury vapor, but in smaller numbers to 15 watt UV lights. Does not come to baits. One is lucky to see this species on an annual basis but the use of mercury vapor or strong spotlights increases the chances.

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for General Forests and Fields

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 SNR [S3S4]

State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands

Comments: Rarely observed but that may be due to the lack of collecting using mercury-vapor lights or other strong UV-emitting lights. Host plants and habitats do not appear to be a restricting factor.

Photo Gallery for Manduca rustica - Rustic Sphinx

58 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.

	Recorded by: R. Newman on 2025-04-10 Carteret Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Bre Owens on 2024-08-14 Hoke Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-08-04 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-08-04 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: R. Newman on 2024-07-29 Carteret Co. Comment:		Recorded by: R. Newman on 2024-07-23 Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-07-17 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Maurice Cullen, Todd Pusser, F. Williams, S. Williams on 2024-07-08 Gates Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: M. Crawford on 2024-06-29 Jackson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Sarah Toner on 2024-06-19 Dare Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Sarah Toner on 2024-06-19 Dare Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish, Lior S. Carlson on 2024-06-17 Lincoln Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jesse C Shaw on 2024-06-12 Brunswick Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Andrew W. Jones on 2023-09-07 Polk Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: tom ward on 2023-08-24 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2023-08-22 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2023-07-24 Wake Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2023-07-12 Wake Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-06-25 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2023-06-16 Transylvania Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2023-06-16 Transylvania Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2023-06-13 Wake Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Erich Hofmann and Kayla Weinfurther on 2023-05-26 New Hanover Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2022-09-13 Wake Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2022-09-01 Wake Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2022-08-14 Orange Co. Comment: on Callicarpa americana
	Recorded by: David George, L. M. Carlson on 2022-07-26 Greene Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Bo Sullivan, and Steve Hall on 2022-07-24 Moore Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2022-06-25 Wake Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2021-08-14 Wake Co. Comment: