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Sorry about that, i hit 'post' instead of 'preview'!

Anyone know who this lovely creature is? It seemed to be dining on wild grape, half the leaf it was on was eaten, but it wasn't actually eating at the time.

Anyway, i can't find an ID, though it looks really familiar...

Thanks for your help!

Lynn

You are the proud caretaker of a Eumorpha achemon sphinx caterpillar. Wild grape, domestic grape, and Virginia Creeper (same family) are the host plants for them. I have raised sevteral. The unique thing about them is they lose their horn in the 3rd to last instar of growth. They are lovely moths, great for pollination of deep-throated flowers.

Easy to raise. I either put about 4" soil or shredded paper towels in the bottom of the container for them to pupate in once they have reached the final instar.

Susan

Cool! I love sphinx moths! I didn't capture it, but there is Virginia Creeper growing under the grape so I'm sure it will be a happy chomper. What does the chrysalis/cocoon look like?

Thanks!

Wow! I love that color! Congratulations!
Sherry

Beautiful caterpillar! Congrats on your find.

The cocoons are typical reddish brown to me that look like an elongated snail's shell. Some sphinx have a hook tip that houses their probiscus, but as I recall this one does not. The manducas do - tomato and tobacco hornworms. Check out Bill Oehlke's website. He had lots of images and tips on raising them. Just google his name.

Virginia Creeper and Grape hosts many fascinating sphinx
including the eumorpha achemon, E. pandorus, Nessus floridensis, and Virginia Creeper sphinx, not to mention the lovely little eight-spotted forester *not a sphinx but a pretty little day-flying moth.

Susan

Thanks! I'm just downwind of 50, but i still get as excited as a kid over a bug or bird or flower i haven't seen before.

thanks for the link, Susan! Nice site, I'll probably end up joining, it's hard to find good caterpillar references, especially for moths. This is a pretty one, I'll be watching for it.I have lots of hummingbird plants, so i get a fair number of hummingbird moths.

Here is a link that might be useful: eachemon sphinx

Forgot to ask...the article says the females "call"...as in make a noise? Have you heard this?

No, that means females exude pheromones, some type of perfume that travels for miles, that we can't smell, that only male moths can smell or sense, whatever, with their big antennae combs - these pheromones attract males to the female to mate with her. It's one of the more amazing things about lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) - but you believe it when you see 3 or 4 males "magically" showing up when your female moth emerges!
Sherry

I'm totally fascinated by the sphinx moths and have raised about 10 different genus/species from eggs and cats found only in my backyard. Bill's website is packed with images and photos and he also has a state-by-state database for sphinx moths that I use frequently.

Have fun!

misssherry..Ahh...i didn't think they made noise! i'm not real up on the terminology. Pheromones are really fascinating though. Wish i could figure out a way to BLOCK Japanese beetle pheromones!

I had no idea there were so many sphinx moths! I'm pretty sure i've seen the green form of this one around ,it looks a lot like a tomato worm.

I had some bad experiences as a kid trying to raise butterflies and silk moths, so i never really thought about doing it again...but i have my 4-year-old grandgirl living with me now, and you guys are making this sound lkie fun...see ya around ;~)

Actually I believe there are some moths and cats that actually do emit a sound of sorts LOL!

I've been including my granddaughter, McKenna, or Kenna for short, in raising butterflies and moths since she was 3 yo. She is now almost 8 (in October). She loves it. We took Monarch cats to school last year and the school is in the process of starting a butterfly garden. Its never too late to start teaching them about nature and conservation. CalSherry has been raising butterflies with her Kindergardners for several years and she is going to continue w/her middle school math students I believe. She can tell you all about the joys of expanding young minds thru the world of raising butterflies.

Sharing these experiences with my GD has really opened my eyes, too! I wish I had done it with my kids, but I was so caught up in working and raising them it didnt cross my mind. 20/20 hindsight LOL!

Susan

Wish i could figure out a way to BLOCK Japanese beetle pheromones!

Well, the next best thing is to take advantage of them. There are a couple of lures out there that use pheremones to lure the beetles into bags and to their deaths (sorry, no sympathy for Japanese rose beetles...). I've had reasonably good success at using the lures to get the beetles away from my flowers.

Jeff