The very hungry caterpillar
VulcanSpirit
Richard & Alison Brunstrom
Thu 17 Mar 2011 12:00
This beautiful and very large caterpillar, you may
recall, was found on St Kitts. Thanks to blog reader Sue Wolfendale it
has been identified as the caterpillar of the Giant Gray Sphinx,
Pseudosphinx tetrio, which ranges from Florida across the Caribbean.
The larvae feed on frangipani (Plumeria spp) which has beautiful and
famous flowers; they sometimes strip the entire plant and are big and tough
enough to then consume the branches as well. The adult moth has a wingspan of
12-15cm, so they are a big beast.
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