what is this beauty?

samathena · #1 (**permalink**) 02-09-2010, 11:13 AM

hi all. im totally new to this, my daughter has just brought in a caterpiller ane were really curious to find out what it is, description;
its about 3inches long,about as fat as my little finger,
dard brown body with 2 gold and black eye shapes at the front of its body,the sides os the head area ig gold,and the strangest thing is the front 3 sets of legs and head seem to retract when touched then stretch out again when its moving
reminds me of an elephant trunk.
my daughter athena said it fell out of our plum tree. its stunning!
any ideas? thanks in advance sam x

samathena · #2 (**permalink**) 02-09-2010, 11:14 AM

oh and it has a small 'horn' on its bum.

samathena · #3 (**permalink**) 02-09-2010, 11:29 AM

hi all. found it. its an elephant hawkmoth. she wants to keep it?

xSarahx · #4 (**permalink**) 02-09-2010, 11:35 AM

they are beautiful caterpillars, aren't they!! There are other posts on this site about how to keep them and rear them, but i would strongly suggest putting it back exactly where you found it. It can be very difficult to rear caterpillars, especially when they are ready to pupate. Pupae must be the correct moisture, and must be kept somewhere cool, like in a shed or garage where it will overwinter and emerge next summer. Like i said, i suggest putting it back and letting nature take it's course as they usually have a higher survival rate in the wild than in 'captivity'. However, if you really want to keep it, then there are other posts in this forum that give detailed explainations on how to keep EHM caterpillars.