caterpillar identification
Location: Dominica
February 2, 2011 3:36 pm
Dear Bugman,
I took these photos on the island of Dominica in the Caribbean in December of 2010. The caterpillar was very large, about 7 inches long. It had a very thin black tail and orange-red head. I hope you are able to identify it. Thank you.
Signature: Deb Beyer
Hi Deb,
We instantly recognized your caterpillar to be that of the Tetrio Sphinx, Pseudosphinx tetrio. The Tetrio Sphinx Caterpillar feeds upon the leaves of Plumeria or Frangipani, Allamandra, and other members of the Dogbane family. You can see photos of the adult moth and get additional information on the Sphingidae of the Americas website.
Dominica is NOT the same as the Dominican Republic. It is a totally separate island hundreds of miles away!
We have corrected the location and also categorized this as a Hornworm, since our original posting was uncategorized.
Thank you. Shouldn’t the title be changed, too?
Duh, OK