pandora sphinx moth??? Dear Bugman,
My 7 year old son Alex loves your site! We are always reviewing the pictures to find caterpillars. My son found this caterpillar on a vine on his school playground and brought it home when it was a baby. He named it “Spot” because of the spots. Now it’s gotten huge, molted off his tail and doesn’t really have spots anymore. We looked at your site and are guessing it is a Pandora Sphinx Moth based on the pictures. Can you confirm this for us?
Thank you!
Alex’s Mom

Dear Alex and Alex’s Mom,
We probably would have agreed with you based on the earlier photo as there are not always photos available of early caterpillar instars and often quite a physical change occurs as they molt. This is not a Pandora Sphinx Caterpillar, but a member of the same genus, the Gaudy Sphinx, Eumorpha labrusca. The larval food includes many vines according to Bill Oehlke: “In Florida larvae have been found on Possum Vine (Cissus sicyoides ). Cissus incisa, Cissus verticillata, Eupatorium odoratum, Ludwigia, Magnolia, Parthenocissus and Vitis vinifera are all reported hosts. “

Thank you sooo much! And you are so right, looking at other pics on the web now that I have the correct name. Also we are in Florida so that all makes sense! You the BUG MAN!

Caterpillar
We saw this in our garden in Crete. What will it turn into?
Regards Ian

Hi Ian,
This is the second Oleander Hawkmoth, Daphnis nerii, Caterpillar photo we received today, the other from Maui Hawaii. It matures into a lovely green moth and there is currently a photo on our homepage.

Manduca rustica?
I couldn’t find out what kind of caterpillar I had, but with the help of your (wonderful) site I think I found it…The Manduca rustica. My dad found it while digging in his garden planting new flowers. Could you tell me what it eats, and how to care for it? Thank you!!
Sarah
Mesa, Arizona

Hi Sarah,
According to Bill Oehlke: “Larvae feed on fringe tree ( Chionanthus virginicus ) and jasmine ( Jasminum species ) in the olive family (Oleaceae), and on bushy matgrass ( Lippia alba ) and Aloysia wrightii in the vervain family (Verbenaceae), and on knockaway ( Ehretia anacua ) in the borage family (Boraginaceae), and on Bignonia species like Desert willow ( Chilopsis linearis ) in the Bignoniaceae family. Larvae have also been reported on Tecoma stans, Callicarpa americana, Fraxinus, Helianthus annuus, Heliotropium, Lagerstroemia indica, Lantana camara, Ligustrum japonicum, Ligustrum ovalifolium, Plumeria acuminata, Plumeria alba, Ligustrum vulgare, Sesamum indicum, Syringa vulgaris, Trichostema dichotomum, Annona squamosa, Gossypium herbaceum and Himatanthus sucuuba . The caterpillar has numerous white nodules on top of the thorax 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. Host plants also include Crossvine, bignonias, and various members of the forget-me-not and vervain families.”

unknown larvae
Hello,
Attached is a JPEG of a larvae, family Sphingidae I’m pretty sure, taken from a dying date palm in Melbourne, FL over the weekend just past. I’m unable to i.d. this critter and have been a lepidopterist most of my entire 55 years on this planet. The ag center people are stumped also. The palm itself was shot full of holes created by white grubs (maybe palm weevil larvae?). For all I know the white graubs are an earlier instar of the green guy whose photo is attached. At any rate I’m really curious to know what I have here and intend to try and raise the larvae to adulthood. I’m setting out now for some date palm fronds. Hope to hear back from you.
Best Regards & Merry Christmas,
Jim Culberson

Wow Jim,
We can’t believe a lepidopterist is actually coming to us for advice. We are not positive, but we believe this to be the larva of a Ficus or Fig Sphinx, Pachylia ficus. Is there a Ficus tree near the palm? The larvae of the Fig Sphinx have at least 4 different color morphs, and this one is different from all we have seen. I can’t wait to get home from work to do additional research and to post it to the site. If you do any additional web research and can substantiate our suspicions, please let us know.
Daniel and Lisa Anne

Hi Daniel and Lisa Anne, Thanks very much for your email. Nope, no ficus trees anywhere near the date palm, Phoenix canariensis, that the larvae was found on. I should say found in since the man who cut the dying palm down found dozens of the larvae in the fibrous material at the base of the fronds. The fronds were stripped I’m told. I would bet by this species of Sphingid larvae. If this thing turns out to be an exotic species Florida could have a real problem on its hands. I hope that y`all have better luck than I in identifying the creature. It is ensconced now in my larvae raising container, a terrarium with a sreen lid, with a large piece of date palm frond. It hasn’t started chomping on the date palm frond yet though. I am an amateur lepidopterist in that it isn’t my profession. I raise various species in my yard, have been all over the world collecting specimens, take photos mostly now since I’ve collected just about all the U.S. species. My undergraduate degree was in marine biology and graduate work in coral reef ecology, all back in the early seventies. I own a publishing business and an ad agency. No work for marine biologists back in the seventies.
Best Regards,
Jim Culberson

Hi again Jim,
We really want to get to the bottom of this. Please keep us updated and we would love to have a photo of the adult if it survives. We still think this must be one of the Dilophonotini tribe and believe the answer can be found on Bill Oehlke’s wonderful site.

What is this?
My daughter and I found this under the ground, it was shallow in the dirt. What is it??? Is it a larva or moth, it wiggles and looks like it might have wings in there? We are dying to know what this is.
THANKS
Therese
Plano, Texas

Hi Therese,
I’m guessing you two were digging in the vegetable garden near the tomato patch. This looks like a Tomato Hornworm, one of the Sphinx Moths. The pupa of many Sphinx Moths look very similar.

Caterpillar Found In Nassau, Bahamas
Hi,
Would love to know what kind of butterfly/moth this is and how long it will take to metamorph. It is 4 and a half inches in length.
Thanks
Jill
P.S. Great Site!

Hi Jill,
This is a Ficus Sphinx, Pachylia ficus. It is one of several color variations of this caterpillar. The adult is a lovely brown Sphinx Moth. We are not sure exactly how long the transformation process requires, but probably approximately a month. Too bad you chopped the big guy’s head off.