Caterpillars: Poplar Hawk-Moth

The caterpillars of the poplar hawk-moth (Laothoe populi), populierenpijlstaart in Dutch, feed on poplar and willow.

This one was crossing a dirt road in front of me; I'm guessing it needed to get to the other side:

^{Olympus XZ-1, 100mm, ISO200, f8, 1/50s}

The moth is brown, but otherwise quite spectacular, as it is big, with a wingspan of up to 10cm (4"), has an unusual shape, and sits in a way that makes it look like a cluster of brown leaves:

^{Photo by Pekka Raukko, from WikiMedia Commons, under a copyrighted free use license}

This species is common in Europe and parts of Asia, and flies from April to September in two generations. You can see the adults resting on trees during the daytime; They Fly at Night (another good movie title).

Thanks for watching!

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