This big guy is munching on my pentas. I'm sure I've seen him in DG queries and photos before, but can't find them now! Who is he going to turn into? What a comical looking guy!!!
ID needed for large caterpillar!
I'm pretty sure it's a giant swallowtail. They normally feed on citrus.
This one is a Giant Swallowtail, I am sure because I raise them. Sorry, don't know what that one is, but somebody will know on this site.
Thea,
It's a Tersa Sphinx moth http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/751244/
Here is a link: http://www.birds-n-garden.com/tersa_sphinx_hummingbird_moths.html
An even better one: http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=3472
Hope these help you
Maggie
Thanks very much Miss Maggie, that's him!!! I'm thinking the cat is more interesting than the mature moth. I love my pentas, but the garden is winding down anyway, so I'm just going to let this guy do his thing.
Well today I've found this huge guy on a hydrangea close by to the penta where I found the big cat. But he doesn't match up with the photos I've found of the Tersa Sphinx Moth. Of course, his wings are closed, but still.... Maggie, can you, or anyone else, verify?
Here's a sideways view of the big guy....
Maybe this one....http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/showimage/7638/
It is definately a sphinx moth, just so many I would only guess.
thea,
I think Sheila nailed it. She's forgotten more than I'll ever know.
Maggie
Thanks Sheila and Maggie, that's a great photo, and it's definitely my little pal.
But now he's an ex-pal. I kept looking out my window to check to see if he was still on the hydrangea. Luckily, my husband returned from playing golf and I was able to show it to him. But then I just happened to look out to see a cardinal fly straight to that hydrangea bloom and pluck the moth out! At first I thought it had got away, because I saw the cardinal back on the ground and didn't see the moth, but a minute later, he leaned down and grabbed the moth again, and took off. A minute later I heard a couple of bluejays too, so I think there may've been a fight over who got to eat my poor guy.....
That is the food chain I guess. Maybe they waited until it mated and layed eggs. I was looking at a Monarch nectaring on some zinnias last year and all of a sudden it jerked and fell. I got up close to see what happened and it was a praying mantis. It grabbed or speared it. Still hate to see it happen, but understand it does.