The feeding behaviour of caterpillars (Manduca sexta) on tobacco and on artificial diet

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Feeding behaviour of fifth instar tobacco hornworm caterpillars, Manduca sexta (Johansen) (Lepidoptera; Sphingidae), eating tobacco or artificial diet, is quantitatively described. The insects grow at the same rate on both foods. There is no daily rhythm of feeding behaviour. For most insects, feeding on either food occurs in bouts with the lengths of interfeed gaps and of feeding bouts appearing to be distributed randomly. However, in many insects there is a strong correlation between the length of a feeding period and that of the preceding non‐feeding period.The proportion of time spent feeding on tobacco is much greater than on artificial diet. On tobacco, feeding periods are separated by shorter interfeed gaps than on the artificial diet, while the rate of bout initiation is similar on either food.On both tobacco and artificial diet, the proportion of time spent feeding increases as the fifth stadium proceeds. This is due to both longer feeding bouts and shorter gaps. The rate of food acquisition within bouts does not change during the stadium.