never seen this before
Location: Muskegon, MI
July 30, 2011 5:39 pm
Hi, we found this caterpillar outside our house and i was wondering what it is. I have never seen a caterpillar this large before, it was about 3in. long. sorry i couldn’t get a very good photo of it. i’m excited to find out what it is.
Signature: Thanks, Katherine
Hi Katherine,
This is the caterpillar of the Four Horned Sphinx or Elm Sphinx. You can see some nice photos that show the four horns on the head by viewing the Sphingidae of the Americas website. We are amused that the common name Four Horned Sphinx ignores the prominent caudal horn, and perhaps a more fitting name would be Five Horned Sphinx.