Kublai Khan of caterpillars DSCN2025 320
Sphinx Moth Caterpillar

Yes, I’m quite taken with the Kublai Khan of NetFlix’s Marco Polo. When I saw this gigantic caterpillar on my favorite tomato plant, which had developed a lot of leafless, fruitless stems, I thought, “Kublai Khan.”

I’ve never seen the cocoon of one of these. I’m thinking this one has got to be pretty close to the spinning-its-cocoon stage.

Last year I tried taking a much smaller one off a tomato plant I particularly liked, and putting it on a less favorite plant. The caterpillar did not stay on the plant I chose for it.

I hope this caterpillar turns into a huge sphinx moth that will visit lots of flowers and lay lots of eggs.

Sphinx moths are those really fast ones that some people call Hummingbird Moths.

8/12/2017 ~ Rather than doing crosswords, I go outside and see if I can find the Sphinx Moth caterpillars on my tomato plants. Despite their large size, they are pretty hard to find. I love Sphinx Moths, so I’m happy to feed a few caterpillars.

I moved the caterpillar below to a tomato plant with scads of leaves and few tomatoes. As far as I can tell, the caterpillars go down to the ground in the evening. I can’t find one on any stem or leaf once it’s going on toward evening. I would guess it’s warmer on the ground for them.

Can you find the 4 stem stubs?

Sometimes I can’t help petting them. When I do, they tend to arch their heads the way horses do when they are feeling particularly proud of themselves.

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Kublai Khan Caterpillar
Article Name
Kublai Khan Caterpillar
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When I saw this gigantic caterpillar on my favorite tomato plant, which had a lot of leafless stems, I thought, "Kublai Khan." It will become a Sphinx Moth.
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Health Boundaries
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