Funky Orange Caterpillar
Location: Sydney, Australia
January 26, 2012 6:19 am
Hi bugman,
We found this little guy roving around our back deck, celebrating Australia day in style. It was a slightly brighter orange colour than the photo shows. Just wondering what it might be? Obviously some kind of hornworm but I couldn’t see any entries already on your site depicting something that looked the same.
Signature: Many thanks, Bridget.
Hornworm: Theretra latreillii
Hi Bridget,
We quickly identified your caterpillar as a Hornworm in the family Sphingidae, but we had to expend some effort to properly identify it. There are many possibilities of Sphingidae on the Butterfly House website, and the thumbnails are often so small that we need to visit the individual pages. At first we thought we had identified your caterpillar as Hippontion celerio, but the Butterfly House images show a much more delicate caudal horn. A much better match is Theretra latreillii on Butterfly House, which states: “Normally the eyespot is hidden by a fold in the skin of the first abdominal segment, and the spot is only displayed when the animal is disturbed. Indeed when the skin is folded, the head and prothorax look like the upper jaw, and the first set of legs like the lower jaw, of some much larger beast, which may deter predators.” The Brisbane Insect website identifies the adult as the Pale Brown Hawk Moth.
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Sphinx Moth Caterpillar
Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL
December 21, 2011 12:26 pm
I believe this is a Sphinx Moth. It is feeding on Crown of Thorns. I’ve seen them over the summer before, but never in December.
PS. LOVE your site. Thank you
Signature: Anthony Argenti
Ello Sphinx Caterpillar
Dear Anthony,
Thanks for the compliment. We believe we have correctly identified your caterpillar as an Ello Sphinx, Erinnyis ello. We did the original identification based on information on the Sphingidae of the Americas website which indicates that they feed on plants in the family Euphorbiaceae which include poinsettia and crown of thorns. The caterpillar is also reported to be quite variable in coloration. BugGuidenotes: “Larval characters: (2) Horn reduced to a low point, arising from an elevated angular hump. In the last instar, the horn is reduced to a nub. Eyespot over the third thoracic segment is hidden in the resting caterpillar. Ornately banded thoracic and prolegs. Length to 7cm. Erinnyis spp. caterpillars come in a seemingly endless variety. “
Ello Sphinx Caterpillar
One of your photos shows the ornately banded thoracic legs.
Ello Sphinx Caterpillar showing banded thoracic legs
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Is this a swallowtail caterpillar?
Location: Riviera Nayarit (Puerto Vallarta)
December 4, 2011 4:27 pm
Hi there, we were in the Riviera Nayarit (Puerto Vallarta area)late November and one evening as we left the resort bar we came across this bug. I’ve been looking around and I think it’s a swallowtail, but it’s also more gross than any of the swallowtails I’ve seen in pictures so far. Could it be that the caterpillar is in late pupa stages? Is it even a swallowtail? Any help you can give would be appreciated.
Signature: Michelle Gessner
Sphinx Moth Caterpillar
Hi Michelle,
This might be a Swallowtail Caterpillar, but some Sphinx Moth Caterpillars also have eyespots. Sadly, your photo does not show the anterior end where a caudal horn is found on most Sphinx Caterpillars. Hopefully we will have time in the future to allot to trying to determine a species identity.
Update courtesy of Karl
Hi Daniel and Michelle:
I think your second hunch is probably correct. It looks like a Sphinx caterpillar in the genus Madoryx (Sphingidae: Macroglossinae). It looks very similar to the pre-pupal M. plutonius specimens on the Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) site. This species apparently doesn’t occur as far north as Mexico but a subspecies, M. plutonius dentatus, lives in Mexico and Belize. And yes, this appears to be one of those hornless varieties of Sphinx caterpillars. Regards. Karl
Hi Karl,
Thanks for taking the time to do this bit of sleuthing.
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¶ Posted 07 December 2011 § ‡ ° Namibian Arthropods
November 17, 2011
Dear Daniel, Many thanks for your 3 messages and all the details they contain. I’m not e-maiing from Namibia but from the U.K. but the delay in responding is because we don’t have the computer on daily. I’ve attached to this message 2 more photos not for identification as I believe they are of a Death’s Head Hawkmoth Caterpiller but I hoped you might like to see them or use them.
I wonder however if I may submit 2 further pictures for identification, again both taken in Namibia.
Kind regards, Roger.
Deathshead Hawkmoth Caterpillar
Hi Roger,
There are several species called Deathshead Hawkmoths from the genus Atropos, and this is surely one of them, but we haven’t the time to research the species found in Namibia at the moment. If you send additional photos, please use our standard form and please attach only a single species per submission.
Deathshead Hawkmoth Caterpillar
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¶ Posted 18 November 2011 § ‡ ° Caterpillar in Malibu, CA
Location: Malibu, CA
November 13, 2011 6:24 pm
Dear Bugman, I found this large caterpillar crawling in my garden. It was not on a plant but I put some clover in a box with it. I’m trying to find out what kind of butterfly or moth it’ll turn in to. Can you identify it?
Thanks!
Signature: Bu Girl
Achemon Sphinx Caterpillar
Dear Bu Girl,
Though your photo does not show the markings on the side of this individual very well, we believe you have photographed the caterpillar of the Achemon Sphinx. Sphinx Moth caterpillars are called Hornworms because they usually have a caudal horn, however, the Achemon Sphinx sheds its caudal horn as a young caterpillar, leaving a caudal spot or “eye” that is barely visible on the right side of your photo. According to the Sphingidae of the Americas website, the caterpillar of the Achemon Sphinx feeds upon: “Grape (Vitis), Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) and other vines and ivies (Ampelopsis).”
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¶ Posted 14 November 2011 § ‡ ° Brazilian bug
Location: Mato Grosso
November 9, 2011 5:24 am
I found this bug on the veranda of my house in Brazil. I live in a town called Chapada dos Guimarães which is supposedly in a transition zone between the Cerrado biome and the Amazon basin biome. On the property there is a patch of gallery forest along a stream and also a patch of former pasture reverting to forest. There is pronounced dry season from June to September. I saw the bug in October after the rains had begun. I was quite surprised when it opened its wings to reveal the gorgeous colors – reminds me a bit of a planthopper Fulgoridae
Could you also identify these large caterpillars that have been browsing recently on a frangipani shrub?
thank you
Signature: Jon Kempsey
Tetrio Sphinx Caterpillars
Dear Jon,
These are the caterpillars of the Tetrio Sphinx moth, a species found in Florida as well as much of the American tropics. They are feeding on a Plumeria or frangipani, one of the known food plants. Your other photos did not attach so we cannot comment on the other creature. In the future, please only include one species per email submission. If you attempt to resubmit the photos, please use the standard submission form that requests information on location.
Thank you for identifying the caterpillars for me – I have frequently seen the moths in my house. I will re-submit the other photos.
best wishes, Jon
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¶ Posted 09 November 2011 § ‡ ° HUGE … caterpillar??
Location: Phoenix, AZ
November 7, 2011 9:23 pm
This was on the leaves of my Blue Potato Bush in Phoenix, AZ. It’s as thick and as long as my thumb. Can you tell me what it is? I assume it will eat my bush, but that’s nature….I won’t kill it!
Signature: Suzy
Carolina Sphinx Caterpillar
Dear Suzy,
There are two large caterpillars that feed on the leaves of tomato plants and relatives in the nightshade family including potato. We just posted a photo of one species, the Five Spotted Hawkmoth or Tomato Hornworm. You have submitted a photo of the other species, the Carolina Sphinx or Tobacco Hornworm, Manduca sexta.
Thank you so much, you are so quick! I looked it up to see what the caterpillar turns into. Very interesting information. One more question, if you don’t mind. What are the chances I would find that caterpillar in a cocoon and be able to see it emerge? I only have the one plant, so it doesn’t seem to me the caterpillar could go very far – or would want to…..
Suzy
PS I am so thankful for the information I get from ‘What’s that bug’ that I am making a donation. Thank you again!
Hi again Suzy,
This caterpillar does not spin a cocoon. It buries itself in the ground and molts into a naked pupa like this image.
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¶ Posted 07 November 2011 § ‡ ° Please help identify this caterpillar?
Location: San Antonio, TX
November 7, 2011 10:54 am
What kind of butterfly or moth will this caterpillar become? This well-camouflaged caterpillar is about 5 inches long when extended. It was spotted in my yard in San Antonio, TX on November 6, 2011.
Signature: Diane Duesterhoeft
Five Spotted Hawkmoth Caterpillar
Hi Diane,
We wish your photo showed a bit more of this impressive caterpillar, one of the Hornworms in the family Sphingidae. We are relatively confident this is an unusual dark color variation on the common Five Spotted Hawkmoth Caterpillar, Manduca quinquemaculatus, a species that feeds on the leaves of tomatoes and related plants. Was there a nearby tomato patch? You can compare your image to a dark individual on the Sphingidae of the Americas website.
Thank you so much for your response, Daniel. There were no tomato plants in the vicinity, but the yellow diagonal marking do seem to be similar.
Diane
The caterpillars of the Five Spotted Hawkmoth will also feed on native plants that are not cultivated, including nightshade and jimson weed. It is also possible that we have incorrectly identified the species, though it appears that the caudal horn is black, another identifying feature.
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¶ Posted 07 November 2011 § ‡ ° 
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