Help what is this?

[sophieh]

Hello Please could anyone help me my children have just come running in to say they have a snake in the garden. On further inspection this has turned out to be a very large 15cm fat caterpillar (i think) it has on its head area large spots that look like eyes and a little spike at the top of its tail end. I have taken a photo if it helps.

[Andy Warne]

Sounds like an Elephant Hawkmoth caterpillar, if it is then they are completely harmless and the adult moths are absolutely stunning. If you do a search of the Gallery there are some great photos of both.

[poschiavanus]

Sounds like a hawk-moth caterpillar. Here's a recent example (of an Elephant Hawk-moth):


And a link to the same picture in the Gallery:
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ga...ge.php?i=43004

A photo would help. 15 cm is probably an over-estimate: the largest figures given in the books are nearer 8-9 cm (3.5 inches).

HTH

poschiavanus

[agrumpycow]

I think 15cm is a bit big for a elephant hawk-moth larva, although the apart form this the description sounds right apart from that. Maybe it was a typo? A photo would certainly help to identify it.
If you're not sure how, sophie, here's a guide, best to upload it to the 'unidentified' Gallery. http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/wi...images_gallery

[Neil Jones]

Originally Posted by sophieh

Hello Please could anyone help me my children have just come running in to say they have a snake in the garden. On further inspection this has turned out to be a very large 15cm fat caterpillar (i think) it has on its head area large spots that look like eyes and a little spike at the top of its tail end. I have taken a photo if it helps.

Sounds like an Elephant Hawk Moth. Do you hace Fuchsias in the garden? They are often used as a substitute foodplant. The usual one is willow herb.

[naturelover]

Originally Posted by Andy Warne

Sounds like an Elephant Hawkmoth caterpillar, if it is then they are completely harmless and the adult moths are absolutely stunning. If you do a search of the Gallery there are some great photos of both.

hi just wanted to ask you about a large catterpiller that i remember when i was a kid,it lives normaly on privet bushes and looks very much like the one in the photoe,what i cant understand i have kept away from these all my life as i saw a boy from my school get stung by one,his hand went bright red around the sting and his hand was all puffy,you said they are harmless is there another speasis that dose sting?

[Andy Warne]

Originally Posted by naturelover

hi just wanted to ask you about a large catterpiller that i remember when i was a kid,it lives normaly on privet bushes and looks very much like the one in the photoe,what i cant understand i have kept away from these all my life as i saw a boy from my school get stung by one,his hand went bright red around the sting and his hand was all puffy,you said they are harmless is there another speasis that dose sting?

Afraid I don't know. As far as I'm aware none of them sting but some have hairs that can cause bad skin reactions and some, like the Puss Moth, can spray formic acid as a means of defense.

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by Andy Warne

Afraid I don't know. As far as I'm aware none of them sting but some have hairs that can cause bad skin reactions and some, like the Puss Moth, can spray formic acid as a means of defense.

Yes, the tail spike is not a sting they have no poison glands attatched to them and are harmless, as Andy says some other species do have hairs that can cause irretation. As for the caterpillar sounds like an elephant hawk moth a relatively common species.

[naturelover]

Originally Posted by Andy Warne

Afraid I don't know. As far as I'm aware none of them sting but some have hairs that can cause bad skin reactions and some, like the Puss Moth, can spray formic acid as a means of defense.

ok thankyou dont know what happend to that boys hand then,perhaps something else stung him in the privet and we jumped to conclusions it must have been the caterpiller.

[sophieh]

Thank you all for your replies. The photo was the same but ours was a browny colour instead. perhaps the 15cm was a bit too big but it was streched out. At first sight the caterpillar really looked like a snake as its body was in the grass and its head was bobbing from side to side. Great help brillant website thank you. The kids are out looking for more things to find!