Tobacco hornworms in Vancouver pet store

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Tobacco hornworms in Vancouver pet store

November 13, 2015 ahamedia Leave a comment Go to comments

Manduca sexta is a moth of the family Sphingidae present through much of the American continent. Commonly known as the Carolina sphinx moth (as adults) and the tobacco hornworm and the goliath worm (as larvae), it is closely related to and often confused with the very similar tomato hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculata); the larvae of both feed on the foliage of various plants of the family Solanaceae. The tobacco hornworm is sometimes kept as a pet by children throughout its range.

M. sexta is a common model organism, especially in neurobiology, due to its easily accessible nervous system and short life cycle. It is used in a variety of biomedical and biological scientific experiments. It can be easily raised on a wheat-germ-based diet. The larva is large, and thus it is relatively easy to dissect it and isolate its organs