Hornworm
Hi,
My girls and I have been “raising” this fellow for about a week now. I have researched and looked at every caterpillar picture I can find. We know it is a sphinx but are uncertain which one. The facts that are causing the confusion are his horn color and his eating habits. He came out of our olive tree and that is his leaf of choice in his new “home”. Have you ever heard of this. He is not alone in our tree and by the looks of the ground they have friends in our neighbor’s olive tree as well. Your web site is wonderful! Any info. on our new “pet” would be appreciated.
Lynda, Erika & Emily

Hi Lynda, Erika and Emily,
The proper identification of Sphinx Caterpillars is often difficult. We sometimes spend hours online trying to identify them. Right now, time does not permit this but we would love to know what you have. The olive tree host is noteworthy information. Try going to Bill Oehlke’s excellent site to see if you can identify this critter, then please report back so we can post the information.

Thank you so much for the tip. We checked out Mr. Oehlke’s site and e-mailed him. He has already identified our friend as a Manduca rustica and has now made a Maricopa County page for his site. He also told us that our caterpillar was most likely violated by many parasitic wasps. Too bad he may not make it to his adulthood. He has already begun to pupate so I guess we won’t know for a while. Maybe one of his buddies in our other “habitat” will make it. My girls and I are so grateful for the help! Your site is great!
Lynda, Erika and Emily Leatherwood
Scottsdale, Arizona

Tersa Sphinx – Brown Form
Thanks Mr. Bugman for helping me identify this Tersa Sphinx in it’s brown stage! I found him in the garden yesterday, 11/10/05, and was fascinated. Here are a couple pictures if you want to post them. Thanks for a great site!
Margo,
Atlanta, GA

Hi Margo,
We love trying to identify critters for people, but we really enjoy hearing that they identified them for themselves using our site. Thank you for letting us know of your successful identification.

Updated (07/02/2008) (10/15/2005) amazonian caterpillar
Hello,
I spotted this beautiful caterpillar during a trip to the Mamirauá reserve in the Amazon rainforest. I understand there are a few species that present this snake mimicking behavior, but I haven’t found the right match for this one yet. Can you help? Thanks and congratulations on your website.
Pablo
Mexico City

Hola Pablo,
Wow, your photo is awesome. Sadly we can’t identify this amazing mimic. Please update us if you ever identify it.

Hello Daniel,
I did some more research here and came across an amazing book on camouflage, mimetism and the like by Roger Caillois. The book’s name is Medusa and Company. He describes four species with similar behavior, of these only one lives in the Amazon, and the position this one adopts surely fits the description. The name is Leucorampha Ornatus (or ornata). I could only find a few pages on the web referring to this species, all in french or italian.
all the best
Pablo

Update: (07/02/2008)
Snake Mimic- 10/15/2005 Amazonian caterpillar
Hi,
I’ve been researching bugs for my library’s summer reading program, and your website has been very interesting to me! I’ve enjoyed seeing all the wonderful photos and even identifying some of the caterpillars in my area. I think I can identify the photo of the Amazonian caterpillar in fact, it is part of an upcoming story time! This looks like a Hemeroplanes triptolemus, which mimics a snake by rolling onto its back and “flaring” the area around the head to scare off would-be predators. There are several websites with good pictures of this caterpillar, as well as the moth it becomes (some type of Sphinx). Thanks for your wonderful website!
Kim

Hi Kim,
Thanks for the information. We checked and found images of the caterpillar and moth on Bill Oehlke’s excellent website. We beleive you are correct. The photo submitted to us three years ago looks even more snakelike than the ones on Bill Oehlke’s site.

Request:  February 23, 2010
Snake Caterpillar (Hemeroplanes Triptolemus)
Hi there,
I work for a UK television show on the BBC presented by Stephen Fry called QI. We were looking at including a question based on mimicry and in particualr were looking for a photo of the subject above. You have a great one on http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2005/10/13/snake-mimic-hemeroplanes-triptolemus-2/ Where it is puffing out it’s neck. Who originally took the photograph? And would it be possible to put us in touch with wherever it came from?
Many Thanks
James

Alas James, we do not keep contact information for submissions to our website.  We cannot contact Pablo from Mexico City.

Caterpillar
Mr. Bugman:
My son caught this caterpillar in a shrub. What’s this bug?, and Is it poisonous?, Can he touch it?
Thank you
Jorge López Collado
College Station, Texas.

Hi Jorge,
What a beautiful photo of a Pandora Sphinx Caterpillar, Eumorpha pandorus. They are not poisonous, can be handeled, and metamorphose into beautiful moths. The pose in your photo is textbook, and the reason moths in this group are called Sphinx Moths. The caterpillar has a resemblance to the Egyptian figure.

identify caterpillars
Can you help us identify these caterpillars? My daughter would like to try to keep them until they form a butterfly or moth. I need to find instructions on how to do this as I assume they are the kind that overwinter somehow. We live in Illinois and found them in our yard feding on the weed (picture of this also attached). They look like Catalpa moths, but we don’t have any catalpa trees in our area, and they are feeding on this weed, not a tree. If you can give us instructions for overwintering that would be great also, but even if we just have an identification, I can do some web research.
Thanks
Deanne

Hi Deanne,
You should be able to find all you need to know about raising White Lined Sphinx Caterpillars, Hyles lineata, by visiting Bill Oehlke’s site.

Catalpa Sphinx Caterpillar Albino?
Hello bugman,
Your site is terrific! We used it to identify these caterpillars which are madly defoliating our catalpa trees, and we checked out the link you offered as well. But, we’ve not found specific information to help us determine the nature of the very pale version. Could this be an albino of the catalpa sphinx?
Thanks!
Elizabeth

Hi Elizabeth,
Nice photo. Here is what we do know. The smallest caterpillar exhibits the normal coloration of an early Catalpa Sphinx instar. The largest caterpillar also exhibits normal coloration. There are albinos possible in all species. This could be an albino. If that is true, the adult would probably also exhibit albinism. Good find.