What’s this?
Dear Bugman,
What is this pretty thing? He and his buddies spend every summer decimating my Virginia creeper vines, and I spend the summer relocating them to wild grapevines. I’d love to know what he is, and what he becomes. By the way, I LOVE your website – this is the first time I’ve ever spent more than a few minutes prowling around a website! It’s absolutely great.
Patricia
Hi Patricia,
Your Pandora Sphinx, Eumorpha pandorus, will do considerably more growing before pupating underground and emerging as a lovely olive and pale green moth with pink and lavendar markings. Use our search engine to locate pages with additional photos of caterpillars and adult moths.
Dear Daniel, Thanks for the quick answer! The Pandora Sphinx moth on your website is quite lovely, and I’m pleased to know that they’ve been happy with the wild grapevines. Also, my husband and I were thrilled to read that you and your group live peacefully with the black widow spiders; we’ve always tried to do that, too, although everyone else seems to think we’re nuts. Three cheers for you and your fantastic web site! Patricia
WHats this Caterpillar???
I am sure you get lots of these. I am a park ranger and have no idea what species this is. It has a slight horn on its tail. Any response would be helpful. Your website is an AWESOME resource for us! Thanks for all the hard work!!!
Ranger Jay
Saluda Shoals Park
Columbia SC
Hi Ranger Jay,
We just love helping the rangers, especially those that go the extra mile to try to get things identified for the curious public. This is a Banded Sphinx Caterpillar, Eumorpha fasciata. It feeds on Ludwigia, the water primrose. The coloration of the caterpillar is highly variable.
Hey bugman, I live in Southern Georgia and my cat brought this to me from my flowers! What kind of caterpillar is this? It is devouring my pentas. Thanks,
Marcy
Hi Marcy,
The Tersa Sphinx, Xylophanes tersa, is commonly found on Penta. There is both a green and brown form to this caterpillar.
big fat larva thing 
hi there,
can you help us identify this larva/caterpillar thing we found in our garden? we live in northern ontario (canada), and our cat found it near our lilac bushes. it measures approx. 3 inches when stretched out. it is *lightning* fast, i never would have imagined something so fat moving that fast. if you poke it it thrashes very aggressively. what purpose does the ‘horn’ serve? we showed it to a neighbor who is an avid gardener and were told they would eat our tomato plants if we didnt get rid of them. thanks in advance for any info you can give us, cheers,
gabriel & rio
Hi Gabriel and Rio,
You caterpillar is not a Tomato Hornworm, but a close relative, the Laurel Sphinx, Sphinx kalmiae, which is easily distinguished from other Sphinx or Hawkmoth caterpillars known as Hornworms because of its black and blue mottled horn. It feeds on laurels, ashes, lilacs, privets; also reported from poplars. It will not eat tomatoes.
Braconid Wasp cocoons on caterpillar
I never would have know what this was if I hadn’t seen it on your site yesterday! I found this poor guy on my tomato plant, he is still alive but not for long. What does he turn into? I read that this is good because him and his friends would eat my tomato plants and some gardeners purposely release braconid wasps into their garden to control these caterpillars naturally.
Steve
Thanks for the image Steve,
Adults of Manduca sexta are large mottled brown moths with yellow spots on the abdomen. We have one pictured on our Hawkmoth page.
Caterpillar
My son-in-law and daughter found this caterpillar on their property. They put their daughter’s size four shoe near it to show us us how large this thing is. Do you have any ideas and above all is it poisonous. Thanks,
Wanda
Hi Wanda,
Your Cecropia Moth Caterpillar, despite its fierce size, is totally harmless. It will mature into a large beautiful moth.
very big caterpillar
Hi,
We found this bug in our back yard in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Can you tell us what it is? Will it be a moth? It was the biggest caterpillar we had ever seen!! It was at least 3 inches long and quite sturdy. Thanks,
Melanie Stevenson
Hi Melanie,
This is a Four Horned Sphinx or Elm Sphinx caterpillar, Ceratomia amyntor. There is a brown form which we recently posted as well as the green form you have sent in.
Mean looking caterpillar
Greetings Bugman,
I live in Tallahassee, FL and I recently found these very agressive caterpillars all over a bush in my front yard. If you prod them with something, they arch their back and lunge at whatever touches them, while simultanously regurgitating some green goop and smearing it on whatever touches them. They have 3 sets of segmented front legs which appear to have stingers protruding slightly from them, but I can’t really tell. A couple of days after I discovered them, they had all but disappeared leaving my bush in seriously bad shape. I was fortunate to have received a new digital camera just in time to get some great macro shots of the last one I could find. I’m curous to know what it is and if it can sting. If it can’t sting, it sure can put on a good bluff!
Here’s the best shot I was able to get with my macro on a tripod….love my Nikon Coolpix 4500 macro for these types of shots!!
Brett
Hi Brett,
We didn’t have to research this Prominent Moth Caterpillar for too long before we located the Azalea Caterpillar, Datana major on this Florida website. The defense posture you describe as well as depict in your awesome photograph is typical of the entire Datana genus.
Chrysalis on fennel plant
We had tiger swallowtail caterpillars on our fennel plants recently and I noticed this chrysalis last night. How long until it hatches? I love your website, I’ll definitely be sending pictures in for identification. This was taken in Clayton, North Carolina, August 1, 2005
Ken
Hi Ken,
This is definitely a Swallowtail which is recognizeable because the crysalis is upright and has a support strand of silk around it. Not a Tiger though since fennel is not a food plant. In your area, I would guess a Black Swallowtail which feeds on carrots, parsley, Queen’s Anne Lace and related plants. I am not sure if the Anise Swallowtail ranges in your area. That would be a first choice in the West.
hickory horned devil
My son,Tyler found this, I thought you might like the photo’s.
Thank You
Brian Marceaux
Vinton, LA.
Thanks for the image Brian. It is our first Hickory Horned Devil of the year.
Help identifying catepillar
We found a caterpillar that we hope we can “rehabilitate.” It is approximately 2 1/2 inches long, green and purplish brown in color with a “horn” near its tail end. I’ve attached a couple of pics. Any help you can give me on identification and what I can do to bring it back to 100% would be great.
I’ve also attached a picture or two of what we thought was a hummingbird. After doing some research it seems to be a hummingbird moth. Can you please verify?
Thank you.
Laura Stoy
Chesapeake, Virginia
Hi Laura,
Your caterpillar is a Four Horned Sphinx or Elm Sphinx, Ceratomia amyntor. The caterpillar has both a green and dark form. I am not sure what the trauma is that requires rehabilitation, but you can try feeding it elm, birch, basswood or cherry leaves. There is more information on Bill Oelhke’s site. Your moth is also a Sphinx Moth or Hawk Moth or Hummingbird Moth, probably the Tobacco Sphinx, Manduca sexta.
Black Swallowtail Caterpillars
I found these critters on your site, thanks! Your response to another reader suggested you might need another photo, so here’s a close-up of my garden pests.
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for the image. They really don’t eat that much parsley and you will have a lovely butterfly to follow.
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