Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, I am so sorry that I can't get pictures of this thing up yet, but my little sister found the strangest, caterpillar or something, and I haven't a clue of what it is! It is simply amazing. I am also sorry in advance for such a long post!!! I am going to try my best to describe it and maybe I can get pictures up later. It is about 2 1/2 inches long. The head end really doesn't look like the head end. The butt end has a large protruding 'eye' right smack on its back(but on the butt end.) The butt end looks exactly like the face of a snake. Its almost creepy. It is a dull brown leaf color, with darker and lighter stripes(not too bright or anything, they don't stand out, you have to look to see them.) It has four little sucker legs on each side of the underside, and three little pinchy legs by the head end on the underside. There is a red spot inbetween each pair of sucker legs. It has absolutely no hair. Now, the strangest thing is that when you scare it it will kind of curl up so that it looks like a J and raise its butt end in the air so that it looks like a small, very fat, snake. Sorry again for such a long post, I am just simply amazed, and kind of freaked out that this thing was in my yard and I don't know what it is!!! Thanks for any help you can give me!!!
*~*elcheal*~*

Although your description is good, a photo is necessary to make a postive i.d. or at least head you in the right direction. In the meantime:

where do you live?
when you say it looks like a snake, does it have tongue-like protrusions that shoot out? do they give off an odor?
where was it found? if on a plant, what plant was it?

The closest I can come is one of the swallowtail cats. Check out the photos on google.

get working on that photo! lol!!

Actually, I believe it is one of the Eumorpha sphinx moth larvae. If so, it needs grape or Virginia creeper to feed on. Also, a Eumorpha will pull its head into its thorax, the fat section just behind its head and where those true legs [the pinchy ones] are. The spot on its rear is where the filamental horn once was. I hope this helps.

good call. I have never seen these sphinx cats before. I do not think we have any up here. Interesting about the missing horn!

lele

>>good call. I have never seen these sphinx cats before. I do not think we have any up here. Interesting about the missing horn!
>>
>>lele

yeah.. I usually see pandorus or achemon sphinxs..both look alike as cats and lose the horn... I've always found them feeing on virginia creeper. I also noticed that when they are ready to go into the pupae stage they turn color from the orangey-brown to orangey-pink.
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Wyvern

neat! Sometimes living in the frigid north (haha! not really) limits the cool critters one finds. ;-/