Caterpillar
Location: Akrotiri, Crete, Greece
October 24, 2010 12:06 pm
I spotted this caterpiller on October 20th near Souda harbor on the Greek island of Crete. Can you help me identify?
Signature: Kritione
Barbary Spurge Hawkmoth Caterpillar
Dear Kritione,
We had to do a bit of creative information extrapolation in order to arrive at our assumption that this is a subspecies of the Barbary Spurge Hawkmoth, Hyles tithymali cretica. We were confident that we had the genus correct, so we did a websearch of possibilities from Crete and we found the Sphingidae of the Western Palaearctic page for Hyles tithymali cretica, but alas, there was no image of the caterpillar. We did find images of the caterpillar of another subspecies of the Barbary Spurge Hawkmoth, Hyles tithymali tithymali, a subspecies from the Canary Islands, also on the Sphingidae of the Western Palaearctic website, and they look like your individual. We learned on Wikipedia that: “It is thought that Hyles tithymali had a much larger range in Europe, but has been pushed further south after the cooling ca. 3600 years ago. Its place has been taken over by Hyles euphorbiae, which is more resistant to the cold. Because of this, many isolated populations exist today, many of which have developed to distinct subspecies.“ To further complicate matters, the caterpillar of the Leafy Spurge Hawkmoth, Hyles euphorbiae, which may be viewed on the Sphingidae of the Americas website, looks nearly identical. That Eurasian species has been introduced into North America to help control the spread of the invasive exotic plant, Leafy Spurge, and the Leafy Spurge Hawkmoth is now established in North America, but it prefers a cooler climate. The Leafy Spurge Hawkmoth, which is also pictured on the Sphingidae of the Western Palaearctic Website, has several subspecies as well.
Daniel,
Thank you for the speedy reply! I appreciate your assistance.
All the best,
Paul
Inseto estranho
Location: Rerião norte do Brasil, Amazônia.
October 23, 2010 4:56 pm
Encontrei este inseto sob a copa de um pé de carambola. Estou na Amazônia, município de Ananindeua, estado do Pará, Brasil. Mês de outubro, verão amazônico. As fotos não estão muito boas. Minha camera, cannon Power Shot A460 está com um problema, com excesso de luz.
Signature: Paulo araujo
Bagworm
Ed Note: Translation by Google
Strange insect
Location: Rerião northern Brazil, the Amazon.
October 23, 2010 4:56 pm
I found this insect under the canopy of a foot carom. I’m in the Amazon city of Anand, Pará state, Brazil. October, Amazon summer. The photos are not very good. My camera, Cannon Power Shot A460 has a problem with excessive light.
Signature: Paul araujo
Hello Paulo,
This is a Bagworm, the caterpillar of a moth in the family Psychidae.
Muito obrigado pela resposta.
Abraços.
Translation by Google
Thank you for the reply.
Hugs.
¶ Posted 23 October 2010 § Bagworm ‡ ° Unidentified catepillar
Location: Pennsylvania
October 20, 2010 7:32 pm
Wondering what this is? I got to page 23 and didn’t find it.
Signature: John Stella
Striped Morning Sphinx Caterpillar
Hi John,
This is the caterpillar of the White Lined Sphinx or Striped Morning Sphinx, Hyles lineata, a species that is found in all 48 of the continental United States as well as Mexico and Canada. It has a highly variable caterpillar, a trait that might contribute to its range and frequency since it is so adaptable. If you scroll down the species page on the Sphingidae of the Americas website, you will find a matching example of this unusual dark variation.
Striped Morning Sphinx Caterpillar
1
Sphinx?
Location: East Texas
October 19, 2010 11:35 am
Hi!
We found this poor caterpillar in our koi pond in East Texas and rescued him before he drowned. We think it might be some kind of sphinx moth, but we aren’t sure.
Signature: Kate
Banded Sphinx Caterpillar
Hi Kate,
The caterpillar you rescued is that of a Banded Sphinx, Eumorpha fasciatus. This is a highly variable caterpillar and some individuals are green, some brown, and other have intricate markings like your individual. You can see these other variations on Bill Oehlke’s website Sphingidae of the Americas.
No time for a photo.
Hi Daniel,
I took a 2-mile walk this morning. Unfortunately, one of my neighbors had fired up one piece of his heavy machinery. So instead of walking in the quiet woods in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountians and breathing in the fresh morning, mountain air, no birds were singing and diesel permeated the air.
As the front-loader was headed toward me, I saw some movement on the old, dirt road: a wooly bear! It was solid black (and heading north!). I picked it up, even though I knew better, and set it up on the embankment, curled tightly, as high as I could reach. No ill effects, I’m pleased to report. There was no time to get a photograph; I, too, had to get out of the way.
This wooly bear was solid black, so I’m not sure if it was a young Isabella Tiger Moth caterpillar or a Giant Leopard Moth caterpillar.
Thanx for listening,
R.G. Marion
10/18/10
Cosby, TN
P.S. Your book finally arrived, and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. Nice job!
Dear R.G.,
Thanks for letting us know that you are enjoying Daniel’s book.
Caterpillar ID
Location: Near Tampa, FL
October 17, 2010 3:35 am
Found this caterpillar hanging out on an orange tree about 50 miles to the east of Tampa, FL in mid Octorber. Suspect it’s some kind of Sphinx moth.
Signature: Larry
Banded Sphinx Caterpillar
Hi Larry,
You encountered the caterpillar of the Banded Sphinx, Eumorpha fasciatus, which you may read about on the Sphingidae of the Americas website, which does not list citrus as a food plant. The Banded Sphinx has considerably variation in the color and markings of the caterpillar, and the color morph that is represented by your specimen is probably the most beautiful.
October 11, 2010
When Daniel was filming the publicity video to demonstrate his on camera abilities to television producers, he was unable to locate any Tomato Bugs, the caterpillars of two different species of Sphinx Moths in the genus Manduca, in his garden. Undaunted, the video was shot without the starring bugs. Six weeks later, Daniel found at least six Carolina Sphinx Caterpillars, Manduca sexta, chomping on the leaves of the volunteer tomato plant in the back yard. Here is a photo of two of them. Perhaps he can convince the camera crew from Varmint Media to return.
Carolina Sphinx Caterpillars
Fat green robin chow
Location: Westford Massachusetts
October 10, 2010 6:07 pm
Hello Bugman… found you on a Google search for ”green caterpillar”. Great site!
I’m curious about the fat green ’pillar that turned into fast-growing robin feathers in my apple tree this summer. Tobacco worm? Luna moth? or ….??
Thank you!
Suzanne Niles
frognuts.com
Signature: Suzanne Niles aka Frogshooter
Robin feeds Caterpillar to Chicks
Dear Suzanne,
We can’t really make out what this caterpillar is for certain, but it does not look like a Hornworm or a Saturniid. Our best guess is some species of Cutworm or other Owlet Caterpillar. Even though we couldn’t be certain with your identification, we are in awe at this awesome photograph.
Hi Daniel,
Wow… thanks for the quick reply! … and for the kind words about the photo. So the delicacy will remain “The Fat Green Thing”.
I staked out this nest right outside my back door, about 10 feet away from the apple tree. Trimmed a few twigs/leaves to clear a “window”, then sat on a stool with a tripod and my new fast camera set at two shots per second… and waited for feeding time, which was about every 10 minutes. Guaranteed results! Worms, bugs, and berries arrived, but this green thing took the beauty prize for meals-on-wings.
Thanks again! Now I can stop Googling-for-greenies.
Suzanne
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