Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Did you brush your teeth this morning?, 1 by BrugAddict

BrugAddict wrote:
OH YUCK ....this one has major problems!

Some info....thought it was interesting....

If it weren't for the silky white blobs, the first feature you might notice is the series of "eye spots" (actually breathing holes), seven of which are topped with white-and-blue slash lines. These lines break up the shape of this sphinx moth caterpillar, which otherwise might be hard to miss since it grows to six inches long.

And then you notice that red, nasty stinger-looking thingy that curves up from its butt. The head is at the other end, by the three pairs of true legs. Lots of people, and some potential predators, are reluctant to tangle with this caterpillar because of that "stinger." Actually it's all bluff. The horn is harmless.

This caterpillar eats the leaves of tomato, potato, and other plants of the nightshade family. At maturity, successful hornworms burrow into the soil to escape predators, pupate, and turn into sphinx moths. The moths are sometimes mistaken for hummingbirds; they dart from flower to flower at dusk. Long tongues enable them to pollinate such specialized blossoms as the prairie white-fringed orchid.

But the hornworm shown here will not graduate to experience the miracle of flight. Some weeks earlier it had been attacked by a parasitic wasp, which injected eggs under its skin. The little baby wasps ate much of the inside of the caterpillar before crawling back out and spinning their own cocoons, which they attached to their host.

It's a bug-eat-bug world!