Comments for
large orange catepillar (Pandorus Sphinx caterpillar)

Click here to add your own comments

Pandorus Sphinx caterpillar
by: Moni

Vermont
This is a Pandorus Sphinx caterpillar. They come in several colors(someone else sent in a photo of a green 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, 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


Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How?
Simply click here to return to Insect Identification

Return to large orange catepillar (Pandorus Sphinx caterpillar)





All of Doug's Ebooks Can Be Found Here







.