Manduca blackburni, commonly known as Blackburn's Sphinx Moth, the Hawaiian Tomato Hornworm or Hawaiian Tobacco Hornworm, is a species of moth

Moth

A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...

 in the family Sphingidae

Sphingidae

Sphingidae is a family of moths , commonly known as hawk moths, sphinx moths and hornworms, that includes about 1,200 species . It is best represented in the tropics but there are species in every region . They are moderate to large in size and are distinguished among moths for their rapid,...

 that is endemic to Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

. Previously known to inhabit all of the main islands, this rare moth is now seen on Maui

Maui

The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...

, the Big Island

Hawaii (island)

The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...

, and Kahoolawe

Kahoolawe

Kahoolawe is the smallest of the eight main volcanic islands in the Hawaiian Islands. Kahoolawe is located about seven miles southwest of Maui and also southeast of Lanai, and it is long by wide, with a total land area of . The highest point on Kahoolawe is the crater of Lua Makika at the...

. It is found in coastal mesic and dry forests

Hawaiian tropical dry forests

The Hawaiian tropical dry forests are a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Hawaiian Islands. They cover an area of on the leeward side of the main islands and the summits of Niihau and Kahoolawe. These forests are either seasonal or sclerophyllous. Annual rainfall is less than and...

 at elevations from sea level 5000 ft (1,524 m).

M. blackburni is closely related to the tomato hornworm (M. quinquemaculata), which it also greatly resembles. It was listed as an endangered species

Endangered Species Act

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...

 by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 2000, making it the first Hawaiian insect to receive such status.

Larvae

Caterpillar

Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...

 feed on plants in the nightshade

Solanum

Solanum, the nightshades, horsenettles and relatives, is a large and diverse genus of annual and perennial plants. They grow as forbs, vines, subshrubs, shrubs, and small trees, and often have attractive fruit and flowers. Many formerly independent genera like Lycopersicon or Cyphomandra are...

 family, Solanaceae

Solanaceae

Solanaceae are a family of flowering plants that include a number of important agricultural crops as well as many toxic plants. The name of the family comes from the Latin Solanum "the nightshade plant", but the further etymology of that word is unclear...

, especially native aiea (Nothocestrum

Nothocestrum

Nothocestrum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. It contains four species of large shrubs or small trees that are endemic to Hawaii, where they are known as aiea.-Species:...

spp.), but also non-native tomato

Tomato

The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...

es (Solanum lycopersicum), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum

Nicotiana tabacum

Nicotiana tabacum, or cultivated tobacco, is a perennial herbaceous plant. It is found only in cultivation, where it is the most commonly grown of all plants in the Nicotiana genus, and its leaves are commercially grown in many countries to be processed into tobacco. It grows to heights between 1...

), tree tobacco (Nicotiana glauca

Nicotiana glauca

Nicotiana glauca is a species of wild tobacco known by the common names tree tobacco and incorrectly also Mustard tree. Its leaves are attached to the stalk by petioles , and its leaves and stems are neither pubescent nor sticky like Nicotiana tabacum...

), jimson weed (Datura stramonium

Datura stramonium

Datura stramonium, known by the common names Jimson weed, devil's trumpet, devil's weed, thorn apple, tolguacha, Jamestown weed, stinkweed, locoweed, datura, pricklyburr, devil's cucumber, Hell's Bells, moonflower and, in South Africa, malpitte and mad seeds, is a common weed in the...

), and eggplant (Solanum melongena). Adults feed on nectar from native plants such as koali awa (Ipomoea indica

Ipomoea indica

Ipomoea indica is a species of morning glory known by several common names, including Blue morning glory, oceanblue morning glory, koali awa, and blue dawn flower.-Description:...

) and maiapilo (Capparis sandwichiana

Capparis sandwichiana

Capparis sandwichiana is a species of flowering plant in the Capparaceae family that is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Common names include Maiapilo, Pua pilo, and Hawaiian Caper. C. sandwichiana can be found on the main islands, Midway Atoll, the Pearl and Hermes Atoll, and Laysan...

).

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