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Parasitized White Lined Sphinx Caterpillar

Posted by August 25th, 2006 at 12:00 am

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Emailing: catty 002
Hi,
I found this caterpillar on a county road in Colorado, I looked on the internet but have no idea of its origin, it also has weird white things that look like eggs on its body and the caterpillar seems irritated by them. Any help would be appreciated thanks!
Decklyn

whitelined cat parasitized Parasitized White Lined Sphinx Caterpillar

Hi Decklyn,
The caterpillar is a White Lined Sphinx Caterpillar, Hyles lineata, a common species in the desert as well as the rest of the U.S. This is a very wide ranging species. It has been parasitized. Brachonid Wasps are common parasites on Hormworms, the caterpillars of Sphinx Moths, but the pupa we are used to seeing on the Tomato Hornworms are much larger than those depicted in your image.

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