CLOSED: I need identification help with this caterpillar.

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Grasmussen Anchorage, AK(Zone 4a) Mar 25, 2010

I photographed the caterpillar in Coyote Canyon, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California, on Mach 8, 2010. I've spent several hours researching caterpillars, on the inter-net, without any success in identifies this fellow.

Thanks
Gary

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suunto Sinks Grove, WV Mar 26, 2010

This is a larva of a sphinx moth (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae). I suspect that it could be a white-lined sphinx, Hyles lineata. The caterpillars if this species are highly variable in color patterns, so much so that one might think that several different species were involved. See http://tinyurl.com/yhslrm7 for an example and http://tinyurl.com/ybzpaj7 for a further sampling of their variety.

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Grasmussen Anchorage, AK(Zone 4a) Mar 26, 2010

Thank you Suunto. I had looked at Hyles lineata pictures, but was unaware there could be such a great degree of variability in color patterns. The second link you supplied has two shots, of a caterpillar burrowing into the sand, which were taken about three or four miles from where I took this picture.

Gary

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