White Lined Sphinx Caterpillar…or not?
Hello there!
I was going through some old photos I have and I came across a photo of a caterpiller i took one day in my backyard. Then curiousity led me to go through your whole caterpilla archive but I couldn’t find one that looks like this one, but from looking at your archive, it resembles a white lined sphinx but they dont have the smaller dots near their head. So, just wondering, am I right or is it something else? By the way, love your site. Had fun looking at exotic bugs! Thanks!
Cheryl (Sydney, Australia)
Hi Cheryl,
We found several websites devoted to Australian caterpillars, but the Sphingidae of Australia website helped us identify your Impatiens Hawk Moth Caterpillar, Theretra oldenlandiae.
Big Red Caterpillar
Can you identify this one? Found on Isle of Hope, Georgia.
Matthew A. Bryan
Hi Matthew,
The Imperial Moth Caterpillar is a highbly variable caterpillar in coloration. We have never seen one this red. Also, the spined dorsal tubercles on second and third thoracic segment on your specimen are a little different than we normally see. A lateral view would have been nice to see on your specimen.
polyphemus caterpillar?
I think from your site that this might be a polyphemus caterpillar, but I couldn’t really tell because the pictures of them weren’t quite sharp enough. So here is my picture. The kids found it in the back yard on September 9 near a maple tree, I believe. We live in Portland, Or. Thanks!
Leah Parker
Hi Leah,
You are correct. This is a Polyphemus Moth Caterpillar. Here is BugGuide’s description of the caterpillar: “Larva: body large, bright green, with red and silvery spots below setae, and oblique yellow lines running through spiracles on abdomen; diagonal streak of black and silver on ninth abdominal segment; head and true legs brown; base of primary setae red, subdorsal and lateral setae have silver shading below; end of prolegs with yellow ring, and tipped in black.” Most of the identifying features cannot be viewed from your camera angle. A lateral view is best. While the Polyphemus Moth Caterpillar might be confused with the Luna Moth Caterpillar in the east, there is nothing similar looking in the western U.S.
what is it
can you identifi this caterpiller we live in alicante spain i have 3 of the on a purlple trumpet like plant. REGARDS
LAURENCE & ELAINE
Hi Laurence and Elaine,
This is a Death’s Head Hawkmoth Caterpillar, Acherontia atropos. It is a species surrounded by myth and superstition, including its appearance in the book and movie “Silence of the Lambs”. We located a wonderful website called Sphingidae of the Western Paleoarctic that has images and information.
Update
October 15, 2009
Hi Daniel,
Hope things are good at your end. I was wondering about why the Death’s Head Hawkmoth citation wasn’t placed in the “Tasty Morsels” category with previous listings.
Thanks,
Dave
Grub on my pointsettia
Can you tell me what type of grub this is? He was the only one on a planted pointsettia plant in my garden in south Florida. I think I’ve narrowed it down to a sphynx moth or hawk moth of some sort, but haven’t been able to find a photo of him in any reference book to more accurately identify him. Thanks,
Brenda
Hi Brenda,
This is an Ello Sphinx Caterpillar, Erinnyis ello. Poinsettia is just one of several plants the highly variable caterpillar feeds upon.
what is this?
We found this in a tree next to our house, in cool, rainy Washington state. What is it???? We have never seen anything like it. Thanks,
The Dennis family
Dear Dennis Family,
This is a Western Tiger Swallowtail Caterpillar. You might have seen the adult butterflies which are showy large black and yellow striped butterflies.
My two sons and I found this amazing caterpillar
Hello there, how are ya?
My two sons and I found this amazing caterpillar in the City of Red Deer, Alberta the other week. We are extremely interested in discovering what is called. Would you be able to help us out with this? Thanks & God bless!
William, Kyle & Daddy
Dear William, Kyle and Daddy,
This is the second Bedstraw Hawkmoth Caterpillar photo we received this week. The other was from Alaska.
I live in Anchorage, AK and found this one rainy day on the flightline. We tried to search the internet to find out what it was but had no luck. Can you help?Meghan
Hi Meghan,
The Bedstraw Hawkmoth Caterpillar, or Gallium Sphinx, Hyles gallii , is one of the few Sphinx Moths found in Alaska. It ranges through much of Canada and Northern Europe. More information can be located on Bill Oehlke’s excellent website.
Cool catepillar
Here is picture of a catepillar with eyes and a goatee I found crawling across my driveway in northeast Texas (Texarkana). The ‘goatee’ is actually not hairy but the bottom of its mouth — just looks like a goatee in the picture. It looks similar to a few on your site but not quite like any of them. I’ve never seen one before — any idea what it is?? You can use the pictures if you want — I enjoyed looking through your site.
Michael
Hi Michael,
We have 11 Caterpillar pages on our site and several images of your species, the Spicebush Swallowtail, Papilio troilus.
Unknown caterpillar on grape leaf
Hi-
We found this on one of our grape leaves yesterday (9/29/07) (Rochester, NY). Do you know what it is? Thanks!
Jeff
Rochester, NY
Hi Jeff,
Adult Pandora Sphinx images were common this year, and this is the distinctive caterpillar of the equally distinctive moth.
moth caterpillar?
Hello Bugman,
We found the caterpillars in the attached image on a Euphorbia sp. (pedalanthous) in our butterfly garden in Hollywood, Florida. We rummaged through all your caterpillar pages and did not make a positive I.D. The darker (later instar??) caterpillar is ~90mm. long, so we think the resulting moth(???) is large, perhaps a Sphynx species. We will appreciate any assistance you or your interested readers can provide. Best regards,
Jana and Stephen
Hi Jana and Stephen,
This one has us stumped and curious. This is a Sphinx Moth Caterpillar. It looks like a member of the genus Hyles to us, but a Euphorbia feeding species that looks similar is not reported from anywhere near Florida. We have contacted Bill Oehlke and hope he can clear up the mystery. We suspect he might request permission to post your photo to his site as well. Bill Oehlke quickly responded: “Daniel, They are one of the Erinnyis species which can be very variable I suspect ello, but they could also be alope. Thanks for thinking of me. I will ask for a second opinion and get back to you. Bill Oehlke “
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But my four year old and I decided to “keep” the caterpillar. I was going to put him outside the next morning, but woke up to him in a cocoon! I figured he’d be fine if we kept him until he emerged. And today it happened! My daughter noticed the cocoon was empty and his short visit was over. Thought you might like a before and after shot 
