Just in time for Halloween, our neighbors dug up some of the kookiest creatures I have seen in a long while!
We looked them up on the Internet, and these things are called "elephant hawk moths/caterpillars". They are in their caterpillar form here, obviously, but when they become moths, their wingspan is about 6 -10 inches across, and they are pink and orange! They originate from the UK, and most US sightings have been in New England, so I feel pretty fortunate to have seen these so close up!
They had not done any harm to her flowers or trees in the bed where she found them, so she put them right back. You can see what look like large eyes on their "heads", but you will discover that is all just clever camouflage.
You can see the hand in this picture to get an idea of how plump these guys were! They were about the size of your ring finger.
They were so ACTIVE and trying to get off the plate!
In this picture, you can see their "real" heads emerging there on the right- they are just little heads, like the size of a regular caterpillar.
This picture shows why they got the name "elephant" hawk caterpillar. It looks just like an elephant trunk when they move and stretch. Those camouflage "eyes" make them look like a snake when they are nestled in a flower bed, to scare off any predators.
Check him out there! Too bad the camera was out of focus!
It may seem weird for someone like me to dedicate a blog to a bug, but Mallory and I had SUCH fun watching these critters for a good 10-15 minutes. They were really fascinating... and harmless, which makes it easy to be so close to them!
...but I think her Daddy will agree it will help her with her putting skills one day!
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