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Elephant Hawkmoth Caterpillar

what is this catterpillar
Location:  leicester england
September 6, 2010 5:33 am
my mum has found two of these in her garden can u tell us what they are?
Signature:  lizziep

elephant hawkmoth cat uk lizziep 300x195 Elephant Hawkmoth Caterpillar

Elephant Hawkmoth Caterpillar

Hi lizziep,
We have received several requests to identify the Caterpillar of the Elephant Hawkmoth, Deilephila elpenor, in the past few weeks.  According to the UK Moths website:  “The English name of this moth is derived from the caterpillar’s fanciful resemblance to an elephant’s trunk” and “It is a common species in most of Britain, including Scotland, where it has increased its range in recent years.”

Posted 06 September 2010 § ‡ Comments (2) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Rustic Sphinx Hornworm

huge caterpillar
Location:  Palm Beach County, FL
September 4, 2010 1:23 pm
Hi,
I was picking basil this morning and almost picked this guy – to my immense surprise! He’s soft and squishy, didn’t move the entire time I was out there, and BIG. Can you tell me what species it is?
Thanks in advance!
Signature:  basil lady

rustic sphinx hornworm1 268x300 Rustic Sphinx Hornworm

Rustic Sphinx Hornworm

Dear Basil Lady,
This is the caterpillar of a Sphinx Moth in the family Sphingidae, known as a Hornworm.  It looks to us like a Rustic Sphinx, Manduca rustica, and Bill Oehlke’s excellent website has photos of the caterpillar as well as the other stages of metamorphosis.  The features that lead us to believe your caterpillar is a Rustic Sphinx are the “numerous white nodules on top of the thorax (visible in your closeup photo) and seven pairs of oblique, blue-gray stripes along the side of the body. The horn is white at the base and blue-gray at the tip.”  There is an extensive list of plants that the caterpillar is known to feed upon, and basil is not among them, so we are copying Bill Oehlke on this reply to get a confirmation and also in the event he may want to add basil as a food plant to his list.

rustic sphinx hornworm basil closeup 263x300 Rustic Sphinx Hornworm

Rustic Sphinx Caterpillar

Bill Oehlke Responds
Daniel,
Thanks for referrals. Here is confirmation notice of Manduca rustica from Palm Beach County, Florida.
Hi,
Daniel Marlos, from What`s that bug`,  sent me your email in  reference to a Manduca rustica larva you encountered feeding on basil.
I confirm that it is Manduca rustica, and I would like permission to add your images to my Sphingidae data base, credited to you.
My Palm Beach County thumbnail checklist is at
http://www.silkmoths.bizland.com/flPalmBeachsph5l.htm
Can you send, as jpg attachments to this email address, larger images than the ones displayed on What`s that bug
Basil represents a new host plant for this species, but it is not surprising to me because it seems to eat just about everything in sight.
I am wondering though it it just switched over to basil recently and was previously eating something else. Can you find basil plants nearby with many leaves missing and numerous caterpillar droppings (poop) on the ground below the basil plants.
Also if I am to credit the photo properly, I would need your full name, or just initials if you would prefer.
Bill Oehlke

Hi,
Thank you for the really fast reply!
If you want any additional images of the caterpillar, please let me know. If you use any of the images, you can credit little c photography instead of “Basil Lady.”
Cheers,
Jenny

Posted 04 September 2010 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Banded Sphinx Moth Caterpillars

Banded Sphinx Moth Caterpillars?

banded sphinx cats laura 300x215 Banded Sphinx Moth Caterpillars

Banded Sphinx Moth Caterpillars

Banded Sphinx Moth Caterpillars?
Location:  Irmo, South Carolina
August 30, 2010 2:08 pm
Dearest Bugman,
Love the website. Just found it the other day. I have been taking lots of pics of dragonflies, but my questions are about some caerpillars I’ve found. The first photo is of two cats on a type of primrose that grows in the water at the edge of the pond. Unfortunately, I hadn’t noticed the cats until after my DH had weed-whacked most of the primroses down, but there are still a few plants left. The second photo is one of the cats after I had brought him inside. I’m keeping it in a plastic bug box for now. I’m feeding it the plants it was on. I thought it would eat more, but there has been frass and the cat has grown and changed color. The second pic shows him now (three days after I found him). Will the indoor temp negatively affect it? It’s about 90 degrees outside and about 70 inside. The last pic is a large (about 3” long) cat that is also feeding on the primroses. I am pretty sure the first pic is a Banded Sphinx moth cat, but not sure about the last one. One of my flowerbeds has petunias and moonflowers and we thought there was a baby hummingbird coming to feed late in the evening, but now we know it was one of the big moths.
Laura

banded sphinx cat laura 300x191 Banded Sphinx Moth Caterpillars

Banded Sphinx Moth Caterpillar

Hi Laura,
All of your caterpillars are Banded Sphinx Moth Caterpillars, Eumorpha fasciatus.  According to Jim Tuttle on Bill Oehlke’s excellent website:”In my experience the caterpillars of this species are the most variable of all of the sphingids.“  That statement is supported on BugGuide where many color variations of the Banded Sphinx Moth Caterpillars are posted.  The temperature change from 90 to 70 degrees may slow growth a tiny bit, but it will not have a negative effect on the development of your caterpillars.  Banded Sphinx Caterpillars, unlike the caterpillars of most members of the family which are known as Hornworms, does not possess a caudal horn.  Your caterpillars will appreciate some nice soil in which to bury themselves to pupate.

banded sphinx cat laura 2 300x154 Banded Sphinx Moth Caterpillars

Banded Sphinx Moth Caterpillar

Posted 31 August 2010 § ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Identifying the Tomato Bug

The publicist at Penguin/Perigee requested that Daniel make a video to stir up interest in radio and television appearances prior to the release of The Curious World of Bugs.  Here is a simple home video of Daniel in the tomato patch:

Though a Tomato Bug, which is Grandma Nanowsky’s name for either a Tomato Hornworm or a Tobacco Hornworm, could not be located at the time the video was shot, there is nonetheless some helpful information contained in the video on these large green caterpillars that feed on the leaves of tomato and related plants.

Posted 28 August 2010 § Curious World of Bugs ‡ Comments (0) °

Tersa Sphinx Pupa

buggies
Location:  port orange, FL USA
August 25, 2010 4:21 pm
hello, i found 2 larva? maybe in my backyard, and i have no idea what they could be. they are light brown/ beige in color with black spots and have no visible mouth or eyes or any other hole for that matter. one end moves and has a spike-like thing on the tip. the other end is hard. i found them both underground, and they came up when i was doing some gardening, in the afternoon. i would love to know what they are and what they will become.
the green thumb

tersa pupa fla 300x190 Tersa Sphinx Pupa

Tersa Sphinx Pupa

Dear the green thumb,
This is the pupa of the Tersa Sphinx, Xylophanes tersa, and you may compare your photo to an image posted to BugGuide and you may read additional information on the BugGuide information page.

Posted 25 August 2010 § ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Tetrio Sphinx Caterpillar

Unknown giant caterpillar
Location:  Pinecrest, Miami-Dade County, FL
August 23, 2010 4:55 pm
Can you identify this caterpillar? Today (Aug. 23, 2010) it was on our chain link fence (sorry no host plant to help!). It is about 5 inches long. The colors are not exactly true in the photo. What looks to be yellow is really more green/chartruse. We’ve searched books and the web and are stumped (not an easy admission for 2 biologists).
Thank you
Sherry

tetrio cat sherry 300x253 Tetrio Sphinx Caterpillar

Tetrio Sphinx Caterpillar

Dear Sherry,
Your caterpillar is a Hornworm in the family Sphingidae, more specifically, a Tetrio Sphinx Caterpillar, Pseudosphinx tetrio.  You may read about the Tetrio Sphinx on Bill Oehlke’s excellent website.  Bill writes:  “The Tetrio Sphinx Moth, Pseudosphinx tetrio (wingspan: 5 – 5 1/2 inches (12.7 – 14 cm) females larger than males), flies throughout tropical and subtropical American lowlands. It is very common in Guadeloupe and Martinique, but poorly attracted by light.
Generally the moth is seen from southern Brazil: Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais (LV);  Argentina: Salta, Tucuman; etc., north through Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies to south Florida, southern Mississippi, Texas, and southern Arizona.“  The caterpillars feed on the leaves of several plants including Frangipani (Plumieria rubra)[sic].  See the Plumeria Society of America website.

Thank you, Daniel, for your very fast response.  Interesting that we have several frangipani, a non-native, about 20-30 feet away from where we found the critter.  We’ll take a good look at the trees when the sun comes up.
Regards,
Sherry

Posted 23 August 2010 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Tobacco Hornworm (Caterpillar of the Carolina Sphinx) Parasitized by Braconid

Tomato horn worm and a killer?
Location:  South-Eastern Michigan
August 19, 2010 1:49 pm
I took this picture in my garden today, I was told that the caterpillar is known as a Tomato Horn Worm. I was wondering what kind of moth or butterfly does this caterpillar turn into (if it turns into one at all) and what are the white larvae on it’s body?
Thank you so much.
Curious about Critters

hornworm braconids michigan 300x225 Tobacco Hornworm (Caterpillar of the Carolina Sphinx) Parasitized by Braconid

Tobacco Hornworm Parasitized by Braconid Wasp

Dear Curious about Critters,
You caterpillar appears to be a Tobacco Hornworm, not a Tomato Hornworm, a funny distinction since both feed on tomato and other solanaceous plants.  According to BugGuide, the two may be distinguished from one another by:  “Larva: large green body; dorsal “horn” (usually curved and orange, pink or red) on terminal abdominal segment; up to seven oblique whitish lateral lines, edged with black on upper borders.  The similar looking Tomato Hornworm, Manduca quinquemaculata, has eight v-shaped stripes and a straight blue-black horn. These caterpillars are often confused and misidentified.“  The cocoons belong to pupal Braconid Wasps which tomato feeding Manduca caterpillars.  This parasitized caterpillar will not mature, but if it had not become a living feast for the parasites, it would have buried itself in the ground to metamorphose into a juglike pupa (see BugGuide), and then emerged an adult Hawkmoth with narrow gray, patterned wings and yellow spots on the body (see bugGuide).

Posted 19 August 2010 § Parasitic Hymenopterans ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Tomato Bug: But is it a Tomato Hornworm or a Tobacco Hornworm

a strange large bug in our garden
Location:  West Mifflin, Pa, 6 miles south of Pittsburgh PA in our garden
August 19, 2010 6:17 pm
We found this on our tomato plants & we have never seen anything like this. Any information you can share with us about it would be greatly appreciated, including what are the white things attached to it? Should we be concerned for any reason or take precautions, or just ignore it?
Thank you, Crystal Lyons

tomato bug crystal 226x300 Tomato Bug: But is it a Tomato Hornworm or a Tobacco Hornworm

Tomato Bug

Hi Crystal,
Alas, your Tomato Bug is not long for this world as it has been parasitized by a Braconid Wasp, mostly small wasps that lay their eggs inside of living insects, often caterpillars.  The female Braconid Wasp has an ovipositor and she injects the living hosts with an egg mass.  The Larval Braconid Wasps feed on the internal organs of the caterpillar, being careful to stay clear of vital organs that would cause the caterpillar to die and the caterpillar flesh to putrify and dry out, an unappetizing meal for the Braconid Larvae.  According to BugGuide, the Braconid Wasp that parasitizes the Tomato Bugs is Cotesia congregata.  Please forgive us for using a very non-entomological term, Tomato Bug.  Grandma used to call any large, green caterpillar with a horn a Tomato Bug.  She didn’t care if it was the Tobacco Hornworm, Manduca sexta (see BugGuide), or the Tomato Hornworm, Manduca quinquemaculata (see BugGuide).  She didn’t know it is not a True Bug in the suborder Heteroptera (See BugGuide).

Posted 19 August 2010 § Parasitic Hymenopterans ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

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