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Sphinx caterpillar
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Sphinx caterpillar

by David Thomas

Gallery: Weekly ChallengePosted July 18, 201264 views2 comments
Found just a few days ago in the Adirondacks of New York State, on a wild grape leaf. After considerable searching, I'm pretty sure it is the final instar of an Abbot's sphinx moth caterpillar, about 8 millimters in diameter.

I then found that I was looking not at the head but at the tail end, which has a fearsome looking "eye", presumably to ward off predators. Since I was fooled, I'm taking the liberty of posting it anyway.

Canon 7D, 90mm Tamron macro lens, f/22, ISO 800, 0.1 sec, tripod.

If you find this interesting, I have others that could go in the Macro Gallery.

Thanks for looking, Dave Thomas, Leesburg, Virginia

Comments

2 comments
Comment posted by Carolyn Derstine on July 18, 2012 at 8:52 PM
That is quite a large and scary eye; makes him look like he could be some type of alien. :wink: Nature is so amazing with all the strategies used for survival. Nice colors in this and good comp. Thanks for letting us see this interesting guy close up. :smile: Please feel free to post more of these in the macro gallery; that's what it's for!
Registered on February 16, 2011, 610 Posts, 3684 Comments
Comment posted by RL Potts on July 19, 2012 at 12:17 PM
Look out Odysseus. It's a cyclops. I like the red/green relationships and the wormy weirdness. I assume the blue is in the background, even though it appears to be in front of the leaf. Even that is interesting.
Registered on November 24, 2003, 188 Posts, 985 Comments