Tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta) caterpillar. This species feeds on tobacco plants, and is able to metabolise nicotine which is toxic to many organisms. The caterpillars can exude some of this nicotine as a gas, which deters predators such as wolf spiders.

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Photo credit: © Peggy Greb, US DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: -, background, biological, biology, brown, camera, carolina, caterpillar, cycle, entomological, entomology, facing, fauna, goliath, hawkmoth, hornworm, insect, insecta, juvenile, larva, lepidoptera, lepidopteran, life, manduca, moth, nature, pest, sexta, soil, sphinx, tobacco, worm, zoological, zoology