Abdomen usually has 5 but sometimes 6 pairs of yellow bands. Forewing is blurry brown and gray. Hindwing is banded with brown and white and has 2 well-separated median zigzag bands. Forewing fringes are grayish, not distinctly spotted with white. The caterpillars are called Tomato Hornworms and each has a black horn at the end of the abdomen.
Caterpillars have huge appetites for leaves and fruits and can defoliate plants quickly.
Fully-grown caterpillars pupate and overwinter in soil burrows. Tobacco fields, vegetable gardens, and wherever host plants are found. Mexico north throughout most of the United States and occasionally southern Canada, but it is uncommon in the Southeast and the Great Plains. G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery. Brou, Jr., V. A. and C. D. Brou.