Subject: Large Green Caterpillar
Location: Apache Junction, AZ
January 11, 2016 9:30 pm
From all my research it appears this baby is lost, and shouldn’t be this far West!! I caught my dogs playing with it and I need to know if there is any harm it could cause to them from either skin secretions or if ingested???
Signature: Apache Junction, AZ
Since you did not provide your suspected identification on this Sphinx Caterpillar, we started our research from scratch. We believe this is a Rustic Sphinx Caterpillar, Manduca rustica, or another member of the genus. We made our identification using the Sphingidae of the Americas site, and BugGuide sightings include the entire southern portion of the United States, from the Pacific ocean to the Atlantic ocean, and as far north as Pennsylvania. To the best of our knowledge, there are no known toxins associated with the Rustic Sphinx.