Catalan, European Moth Caterpillar
Location: Catalan Pre-Pyrenees/Pyrenees, Cadí-Moixeró. Near Bellver de Cerdanya, Catalonia.
November 29, 2010 5:23 am
First of all, thank you for the great work done here.
In a hike we went two years ago found a (probably) moth caterpillar of unknown (for me) of unknown type. It was in summer, in the catalan pre-pyrenees, near bellver de cerdanya and in the Cadi-Moixeró national park limits. Size was about 60mm long by 13-15mm.
I sent a pair of images.
Thank you very much in advance,
Signature: Victor Calvis i Ponton
Dear Victor,
This gaudy caterpillar is Hyles euphorbiae, commonly called the Leafy Spurge Hawkmoth. You can read about it on the Sphingidae of the Americas website because it was introduced to North America to help control the spread of a European weed, the Leafy Spurge. The Sphingidae of the Eastern Palaearctic website has a map with the native range of the species indicated.
