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Elephant Moth Caterpillar

Posted by August 8th, 2009 at 6:58 pm

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Hornworms

tersa sphinx caterpiller
August 8, 2009
i found one of these in my back garden are they common in britain, and do they bite. if there,s one will there more. what should we do with it.
donna bell
britain

elephant hawkmoth caterpillar donna 296x300 Elephant Moth Caterpillar

Elephant Hawkmoth Caterpillar

Dear Donna,
This is not a Tersa Sphinx Caterpillar.  It is one of two caterpillars from the genus Deilepila, probably the Elephant Hawk-Moth, Deilephila elpenor. There is a very nice photo of the caterpillar on the TrekNature website.  Unless you plan to observe the metamorphosis, you should release the caterpillar.  It is not an uncommon UK species.

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