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.
1
¶ 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.
1
¶ Posted 07 November 2011 § ‡ ° One eyed caterpillar
Location: Fort Myers Florida
October 30, 2011 4:58 pm
Hi,
I found this caterpillar after I carried some dead Plumeria branches out to the trash. I think it had been hiding in the branches for cover because it had a similar color. I live in Fort Myers. The caterpillar appears to be about ready to pupate. There are Live Oaks in the area and lots of bromeliads & other plants.
Signature: Thanks, Carol Schumann
Ello Sphinx Caterpillar
Hi Carol,
Your caterpillar is an Ello Sphinx Caterpillar, Erinnyis ello, and the eye is actually a marking known as an ocellus or false eyespot that is a defense mechanism to protect many insects against predators that might mistake a tasty morsel for an even larger predator. Fully developed Ello Sphinx Caterpillars lose the caudal horn, so your individual is probably still not ready to pupate. This is a highly variable caterpillar, and you can see some of the variations on the Sphingidae of the Americas website. We have been unable to determine if the Ello Sphinx Caterpillars are known to feed on plumeria. BugGuide lists food plants as: “Recorded feeding on members of the following plant families: Caricaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Myrtaceae, Sapotaceae.”
I was so thrilled to find this caterpillar! We have all of those plant families in our yard! I have seen the moth drawn to the front porch by the night light. This is the first time I have seen the caterpillar!
Thank you for the identification. It is greatly appreciated! 
¶ Posted 30 October 2011 § ‡ ° Caterpillar found in Costa Blanca area of Spain
Location: San Miguel de Salinas, 03193 Alicante, Spain
October 29, 2011 6:25 am
The attached picture is of a caterpillar (approx 8-9cm in length) which was found in the garden of our villa near San Miguel de Salinas in Spain (Postcode 03193 Alicante).
I had thought it was dead when I first picked it up in gloved hand but after a short while it curled round my finger and so I released it back onto the ground near where I had found it.
Signature: Dear Ian
Death's Head Hawkmoth Caterpillar
Hi Dear Ian,
Because of the pattern on the thorax of the adult moth, this species, Acherontia atropos, is commonly called the Death’s Head Hawkmoth and it was used to advertise the movie Silence of the Lambs. The caterpillar feeds upon “Trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants, mainly in the Solanaceae, Bignoniaceae, Verbenaceae and Oleaceae” according to the Sphingidae of the Western Palaearctic website.
¶ Posted 30 October 2011 § ‡ ° Hissing Catapillar
Location: Ft. Hood, TX
October 19, 2011 1:02 pm
This catapillar started hissing when my wife tried to move it away from her chair. What is it?
Signature: Brian
Walnut Sphinx Caterpillar
Hi Brian,
This is the caterpillar of one of the Sphinx Moths or Hawkmoths. The head and caudal horn are very distinctive in your individual, and we believe this may the the caterpillar of the Walnut Sphinx, Amorpha juglandis. There are photos on the Sphingidae of the Americas website that show the similarities and there are also some similar photos on BugGuide which notes: “larva may produce a whistle-like hiss when handled.” We will contact Bill Oehlke to see if he can confirm or correct.
Bill Oehkle responds
Yes it is Amorpha juglandis, the walnut sphinx.
¶ Posted 22 October 2011 § ‡ ° Orb Weaver catches Caterpillar in her web and encases it in silk.
Location: Cheney Kansas
October 17, 2011 8:16 pm
I rescued this spider at work from being chopped up by my weed wacker. I took it home and set it free in the garden.
The next day I searched the garden to see if she would cast her web in my yard . I found her Web and she had already caught several moths and was in the process of taking care of a White Lined Sphinx Caterpillar.
I’ve included several photos and you can really see in detail how she uses her spinneret to encase her future meal.
Signature: Chris Harris
Banded Orbweaver
Hi Chris,
Thanks so much for sending us your wonderful photos of a Banded Orbweaver eating a White Lined Sphinx Caterpillar.
Banded Orbweaver eats White Lined Sphinx Caterpillar
We don’t believe caterpillars are a typical prey for Orbweavers that tend to snare flying or hopping insects.
Banded Orbweaver eats White Lined Sphinx
1
Ceratomia catalpae parasitized by Apanteles congregatus
Location: Northeast Tennessee
Subject: Ceratomia catalpae parasitized by Apanteles congregatus
Location: Northeast Tennessee
October 10, 2011 9:02 pm
Or…
Catalpa Sphinx caterpillar with eggs from a parasitic Braconid wasp.
I took these at my grandparents’ house last weekend.
There was a congregation of about 6 caterpillars on the leaves of one branch of their Catawba tree. They were not moving and many had these eggs on them. Some were hanging (as if about to pupate, maybe?). Sorry they’re so blurry, my camera is really crappy:)
Love your site!
Signature: Easily Fascinated Strikes Again
Parasitized Catalpa Sphinx
Dear Easily Fascinated Strikes Again,
This is a very interesting sighting, though not really rare. We wish your photos were clearer, but we are posting the best of them anyways. Thanks so much for your concise personal observations.
Strange Caterpillar
Location: Olathe, Kansas
October 3, 2011 7:22 pm
We saw this caterpillar today in the parking lot of a local nature center. No one in our group had ever seen one like it before. It was about three to four inches long and about half an inch thick.
We tried to shift it onto a piece of paper to move it into the grass; it reacted by violently wriggling side to side, almost like a snake. (We stopped trying and left it alone.)
Any idea what it is?
Signature: Joyce and Josh
White-Lined Sphinx Caterpillar
Dear Joyce and Josh,
This is the highly variable caterpillar of the White Lined Sphinx or Striped Morning Sphinx, Hyles lineata. In addition to this black form, some individuals are green and others are yellow. The caterpillars of the White-Lined Sphinx are edible.
Thanks very much for the information! We appreciate it but we will not be eating any White-Lined Sphinx caterpillars anytime soon.
1
rss
I like This
