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Insects

Manduca sexta

Willmott and Ellington 1997, reprinted by Dean, give Manduca sexta a maximum airspeed of 11.2 mph (5 m/s) in a flight chamber. Higher figures Dean codes with a question mark are not used.

A manduca sexta can travel 11.2 mph (5 m/s), a verified measurement.

Also known as tobacco hornworm moth, Carolina sphinx
Post on X (opens in a new tab)

Top speed

Published as 5 m/sPublished as 5 m/sPublished as 5 m/s

Dean, Table 1, Sphingidae. Manduca sexta 11.2 mph (5 m/s), maximum, airspeed, flight chamber, Willmott and Ellington 1997. The bibliography cites Journal of Experimental Biology 200: 2723–2745. Lane’s and McKeown’s higher sphingid figures are coded with unknown methods or as ground speed. The figure is 11.2 mph (5 m/s).

VerifiedUniversity of Florida, Department of Entomology and Nematology (opens source in a new tab)

In context

  • 48% of Usain Bolt's 100 m world-record paceSourced · Usain Bolt, 100 m in 9.58 s. World Athletics, Berlin 2009. Averaged over the race
  • 17% of a cheetah's timed top speedSourced · Cheetah, 29 m/s. Sharp 1997, mean of three timed runs over 201.2 m
  • A football field in 18 sConstant · American football field, 100 yd (91.44 m)

Worked out from the sourced figure above, which stays the ranked number.

Quick answers

People also ask

How fast can a manduca sexta travel?

A manduca sexta can travel 11.2 mph (5 m/s), a verified measurement.

Is that figure claimed or verified?

Manduca sexta is labeled Verified. Independently measured and published, for example in a peer-reviewed study or with certified timing.

What is the source?

The figure cites University of Florida, Department of Entomology and Nematology, “Book of Insect Records, Chapter 1, Manduca sexta cell.”

Where does Manduca sexta rank?

Manduca sexta is 9th of 10 on Fastest Insects.

Mechanism

Why it's so fast

Manduca sexta is ranked at 11.2 mph (5 m/s), the maximum airspeed Willmott and Ellington 1997 measured in a flight chamber. Dean codes the cell X / A / FC. At about 2.2 mph per m/s, about 11 mph (5 m/s).

Maximum
11.2 mph (5 m/s)
Method
Flight chamber
Paper
J. exp. Biol. 1997

  1. A chamber removes the wind

    A flight chamber is not the open air and not a tailwind. The 11.2 mph (5 m/s) is a maximum airspeed, which is why the code starts with X. Toward-light and away-from-light cells of 0.895 mph (0.4 m/s) and 0.649 mph (0.29 m/s) are cruising past a lamp, not this maximum.

  2. Older hawk-moth claims

    Dean’s table has higher sphingid numbers coded with an unknown method or as ground speed. Those are not used. Guinness’s 24.2 mph (39 km/h) maintainable class speed for hawk moths is a group statement, not this species cell.

Provenance

Every measurement

Claimed, measured and official figures side by side, each with its source. The ranked figure is marked.

  1. 18.0km/h11.2mph5m/s9.7knRanked figure

    Dean, Table 1, Sphingidae. Manduca sexta 11.2 mph (5 m/s), maximum, airspeed, flight chamber, Willmott and Ellington 1997. The bibliography cites Journal of Experimental Biology 200: 2723–2745. Lane’s and McKeown’s higher sphingid figures are coded with unknown methods or as ground speed. The figure is 11.2 mph (5 m/s).

    X / A / FC is a maximum airspeed in a flight chamber. Toward-light and away-from-light cells of 0.4 and 0.649 mph (0.29 m/s) are not the figure.

    Verified
    University of Florida, Department of Entomology and Nematology (opens source in a new tab)

Reference

Specs

Species
Manduca sexta
Maximum
11.2 mph (5 m/s)
Method
Flight chamber

Context

Background

Manduca sexta is the tobacco hornworm moth. Dean’s table says 11.2 mph (5 m/s) and codes it as a maximum airspeed in a flight chamber, citing Willmott and Ellington 1997 in the Journal of Experimental Biology. A flight chamber removes the wind that inflates a ground speed. The figure is 11.2 mph (5 m/s), qualifier verified.

The same table has much slower cells for this moth flying toward or away from a light, 0.895 mph (0.4 m/s) and 0.649 mph (0.29 m/s). Those are not the maximum. Older sphingid numbers that Dean marks with an unknown method, or that are ground speeds, are not substituted for this chamber figure.

Head to head

Compare Manduca sexta

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