Check out this Pandora Sphinx Caterpillar I found!
This morning I was doing my routine chores patrolling the garden when I came across this big fat ugly brown worm. Here it is I was eyeballing the tomatoes looking for the notorious big green Tomato Horn Worms when I came across this fella instead. Between two of our tomato plants was a vine called Virginia Creeper that it was munching away on. I was stumped because I have never seen a worm or caterpillar like this one. It kinda looks like a Tomato Horn worm doesn't it? It is in fact a Pandora Sphinx Caterpillar in the same family as the Tomato Horn Worm.
I'm almost ashamed to say that yes I did indeed use Google to find out what kind of worm this is. You can read all about them here...
http://naturalcrooks.com/rambles/huge-smooth-caterpillar-rusty-brown-5-big-white-eye-spots-green-small-black-white-spots-spiracles/
How cool is this? This is what I love about farming, gardening, and living out in the wild. I had no clue what a Pandora Sphinx Caterpillar was till I found it right here in my garden this morning. You never know what kind of cool critters you will find next! Learn something new everyday. YAY!!! One up for nature.
Upon discovering this new worm I learned that this worm in fact feeds on Virginia Creeper vines, grape leaves, and other related plants. Which is why it wasn't eating the tomatoes (yet I find it right next to one of the tomato plants rolls eyes). Unlike it's Tomato Horn Worm cousin, these worms in fact shed their horn as they get older and bigger.
I was curious to see what these worms look like after they grow up and metamorphosize. I checked another link finding pictures of the Pandora Sphinx Moth. WOW! What a beauty ain't she!?
https://www.ohiohistory.org/learn/collections/natural-history/natural-history-blog/2011/october-2011/halloween-sphinx-moth-part-i
WOW! Is it just me or does this moth look like a big green spaceship? I swear this moth is something you would see in a science fiction movie. Attack of the giant Pandora Sphinx Mothra! Dunt Dunt Duuuunt! (Suspenseful sound effects)
With a name like Pandora Sphinx I wonder why the Airforce doesn't have green gliders yet that look like this? Seriously, this is one of the coolest insects I have discovered yet! Next one I find I'm going to have to keep it in a cage so I can watch it grow into this beautiful green moth.
As always I'm Theo aka Rainbow Man and here is the PROOF!
Proof of Pandora Sphinx Caterpillar
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I came to your post because @coinsandchains featured your post in the Payitforward curation contest. His post is located here;
https://steemit.com/payitforward/@coinsandchains/payitforward-week-17-my-entry
The Payit forward curation contest is located here;
https://steemit.com/contest/@thedarkhorse/looking-back-pay-it-forward-curation-contest-week-17-c280a606eeb7eest
You never know what you will run into in the yard if you keep your eyes open
howdy today Rainbow Man! that is one big worm, it would be hideous if it weren't for the white spots, those look pretty cool. very interesting and wild looking moth that it turns into! it DOES look like a spaceship!
Howdy Jonboy! It was an ugly worm LOL. It had cool markings and all but then you see it's head and it is hideous LOL. I can see Disney making an evil Pandora Sphinx caterpillar character that is evil and smokes a hukah LOL.
hahaha! Rainbow Man still has it lol. very funny man thanks!
Nice, you never know what you will find in the garden.
We've been starting to see the big fat green horn worms since the tomatoes have come in. When I saw this thing I was like, WTF!? I didn't find any green worms but I did find this thing. So I had to take pictures and do some homework.
If you see any of these guys, don't touch them. They sting and you will think your arm is on fire. The old timers call them Packsaddles. We get them in the corn, I need to see if I can catch some picks of them.
Now that's cool! I've been stung by one that had brown, white, and green stripes on it's side. Had the same prickly's as this. Cool caterpillar thanks for sharing @coinsandchains. May you find one and not get stung by it. Actually no, get stung by it! Dipshit Democracy! LOL j/k
I have never seen a caterpillar like that, and his adult version looks unique too. Nature is teeming with a diverse range of cool creatures :)
Awesome! Glad you like! I thought I discovered a new worm this was so cool. I never seen one either. Now we know Ha Ha!
II think that is a cicada.
Oh, I look him up and see what I missed. Lol thanks
You should be able to hear them outside, the locals here in the mountains call them Jar-flies. They do kind of look like a big green fly.
Thanks for the info
Awesome! Hakuna matatta.. or whatever.
That's an incredible find nonetheless. Looks cool, love its markings.
Hakuna matatta said our rooster who ate him LOL. I already fed him to the chickens before I did my homework :-(. Now I got to find another one so I can have me one of these green spaceship moths LOL.
Wow. He's a big one! I never heard of them. Cool! Thanks buddy.
No problem @squirrelbait. I never know what I'm going to find these days. It is fun discovering things like this.
it's beautiful caterpilar .. never seen one before, google said it is usually lives in North America. well.. there must be some spesific flowers that it likes or helps to polinate. good finding and thanks for sharing. found your post through @coinsandchains entry post to the pay it forward curation contest this week.
Hey thanks for coming by! I never know what I'm going to find gardening out in the woods HA HA. Here it is I was expecting to find some Tomato Horn Worms and found this guy instead. So I had to make a post about it. :-)
And thanks for the post.. because you've made someone from other side of the world who never seen that guy in her lifetime 😂
Somehow I'm curious where the pandora sphinx name from. Well.. I did a little check but still can't find it anywhere😊 and I read about some flowers were polinated by the sphinx moths, for example the four o'clocks flower..I have it but never find the moths😆
That Pandora Sphinx Caterpillar is so cool looking!
I have never seen one like that before
It was my first time too finding one of these. You never know what kind of critters you are going to find in the garden.
AS long as they are slithering... I have this ultimate fear of snakes. No matter how small. Just don't like them lol
Oh I catch snakes and have a few snake blogs already posted awhile back.
Wow that thing is huge! I bet the resulting moth is pretty large too. Once when I was living in the city I grew milkweed in the tiny lawn out back. It took a year or more but I managed to get Monarchs in the neighborhood.
The neighbors thought I was crazy for growing weeds but I enjoyed the butterflies.
I am glad you were featured in the #payitforward this week. I saw some of your other posts look interesting. Gone to investigate.
Thanks for stopping by! Glad you liked it. I actually found this worm while out looking for the infamous Tomato Horn Worm. Found this guy instead never seeing it before baffling me.
Yeah the post did say you on the hunt for the horney one. Guess you go worm huntin you never know what may turn up.
I did end up finding one :-).
https://steemit.com/gardening/@hippie-witha-gun/alright-i-got-one-my-first-tomato-horn-worm