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Butterfly Garden

Can someone identify this caterpillar?

16 years ago

We found this guy last night. My dog actually found it. It was hanging in a bush in the backyard. He was growling and barking at it. My husband said it was a "big leaf" ... and it did look like one, but the way the dog was freaking out I knew it wasn't.

So we snipped the little branch it was on and brought it inside and took some pictures (below) and then put him back out in the bush. I don't know if you can tell by the pictures but he was about 5 inches long.

Thanks in advance.

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Comments (2)

pbelardo_nj
16 years ago
Looks like some type of Sphinx Moth caterpillar.
texaspuddyprint
16 years ago
Do you know what plant it was on? Most times you can ID a caterpillar by what it is feeding on...then again, some moths have a large variety of larval hosts.

It is definitely a sphinx moth caterpillar...but which one is the question. Perhaps it is a Rustic Sphinx. The photo is a bit washed out but based on the size you mentioned and the markings that's what I'm leaning towards.

Did you end up raising it? If so, did you get a photo of the emerging moth? Not sure what your weather is like during the fall season but some cocoons overwinter under leaf debris around the plant they were on.

~ Cat
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