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Posted in Caterpillars Worms Facts Worms Generally

Grayish-green Worm with Big Eye Spots is an Elephant Hawk Moth Caterpillar

“Is this an elephant hawk moth caterpillar?” asks Julia in her submission regarding the gray-green creature pictured below; it has a pattern of dots and circles on its back, as well as two big eye spots on its head. “I live in southwest Florida, right on the water. My daughter and I found this guy outside on the hot pavement, in quite a hurry. So we picked him up and placed him in the shade under a tree. I have looked and looked and can’t find any sightings of them anywhere near South FL. But he sure did have an elephant snout and the same markings. Is this guy really lost, or am I misidentifying? PS. Thanks for all you do! I’ve submitted questions several times. Even when you couldn’t directly help, your suggestions did.”

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Posted in Interesting Worms

A Brown Caterpillar with a Big Head

A while back, we received some pictures of a very interesting worm (or what the reader called a “worm”) from a reader. We’ve been eager to look into the creature because its appearance is so unique: the “worm” is brown with a big head (or rather a huge head), and on this large head are two dots that look like eyes. The reader asked what kind of worm he had found, but we don’t think he found a worm. It looks more like a caterpillar, albeit a very strange looking caterpillar, one that we have never seen before. So the question is: what kind of brown caterpillar did our reader find?