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Submitted by: Moni

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Justin This is a Pandorus Sphinx caterpillar and yes they come in several colors(someone else sent in a photo of an orange one) of not only orange and green but reddish and brownish. Sphinx larva in general are called the horntail or hornworm larva since they have a tail.The last instar or molted stage of this caterpillar loses its tale and has an eye spot in its place. This is a beautiful and spectacular larva...just found my first Pandorus larva last week also. They do eat grape leaves, porcelain vine (Ampelopsis sp) as well as Virginia creeper. When you see these large larva moving, this time of year, they are on their way to find a place to pupate. They overwinter as pupa. The adult moths are gorgeous and greenish also. They have a long proboscis or feeding tube for gathering nectar from flowers. They look a little like small hummingbirds feeding at night. Here are some photos of this insect http://bugguide.net/node/view/3937/bgimage

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Submitted by: artzdlfin

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it's a horn worm. i found one 3" long on my tomato plant this year.

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Submitted by: Anonymous

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Tomato horn worm or Tobacco horn worm!!

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