tobacco hornworm

noun

: an American hawk moth (Manduca sexta) whose large usually green larva is a hornworm that feeds on the leaves of plants of the nightshade family and especially tobacco and tomato

Examples of tobacco hornworm in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The tobacco hornworm, for example, not only tolerates the toxicity of nicotine but exploits the plant’s weapon in the interest of its own survival: After feeding on tobacco leaves, the hornworm releases enough nicotine through its spiracles to ward off the spiders that prey on it. Barbara Spindel, WSJ, 22 Dec. 2023 Thus, something unique to the bite of the tobacco hornworm induces a rearrangement around the double bond of GLVs [Ars Technica]. Andrew Moseman, Discover Magazine, 26 Aug. 2010 On the other hand, plants damaged by larvae of the tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta), release a roughly equal mixture of (Z)-GLVs and (E)-GLVs, isomers where the main chemical groups lie on different sides of a double bond. Andrew Moseman, Discover Magazine, 26 Aug. 2010 In 2008, researchers from Georgetown University, in Washington, D.C., taught caterpillars of the tobacco hornworm moth to dislike—and avoid—a particular scent. Liz Langley, National Geographic, 11 Aug. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1909, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tobacco hornworm was circa 1909

Dictionary Entries Near tobacco hornworm

Cite this Entry

“Tobacco hornworm.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tobacco%20hornworm. Accessed 24 Dec. 2024.

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