Insects and Spiders

Tersa Sphinx Caterpillar View 1

I found this large, brightly colored and marked caterpillar in the leaf debris in my flowerbed. It will become one of the large sphinx moths. It uses the fake stinger on its rear and the fake eyes on its front to frighten predators. It is in the stage right before pupation. I brought it in and put it in the monarch butterfly habitat and gave it pentas leaves to eat. When I looked at my pentas I could tell where it had been. It is identified by the large eye spots at the head followed by 6 smaller ones down each side of the body. Comes in both green and brown forms, I got the green one. When it feels threatened, it rears up and puffs its head up and points the large eye spots at me to look intimidating. The actual head and eyes are kind of hidden under all that.
Tersa Sphinx Caterpillar Hodges # 7890 (Xylophanes tersa)

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