Abbott's Sphinx Moth Caterpillar » Fragments from Floyd

The caterpillar is heading stage left, eyespot on the other end, an intended distraction.

As if I knew this beauty–or even did the work to key it out for myself. I’d never seen it, and failing in a five-minute scroll of Google and Bing images of North American caterpillars, I resorted to a kind of benign cheating.

I posted the image to the Caterpillar Identification group on FB at 4:20 this morning and less than an hour later, had a correct ID. Many thanks!

So I’ve gathered a few resources to store away with this new fact (yes, they DO still exist on Goose Creek, if not in our nation’s capital.)

Both the caterpillar and the adult moth are quite variable. I HAVE seen the moth but did not know what it was. I will next time–my world richer for knowing one more living thing and fellow creature, by name.

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Sphecodina abbottiiÂ

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