The absolute largest caterpillar I have ever seen crossed my path this morning. I do my laundry 4 steps away from my little box in the house of the people I rent from. This morning as walked the 4 step I was confronted with a bratwurst sized lime green thing crawling quickly across the pea gravel. (arizona's version of a nice yard)
Huge I tell you, HUGE . I quickly got my camera and set it to super macro to catch the giant crawler. Hmm... nothing to indicate scale, and everyone knows that my super macro setting makes the smallest things look huge... so I went back to find something to set next to it for scale.
I brought sunglasses because they were about the length of the thing as it crawled along. That is when I discovered I'm turning into a wimp.
I struggled to get the glasses in the shot as the thing crawled at quite a clip. In one attempt to get the glasses close to the thing I touched the caterpillar. It proceeded to whip its horn hooked end (not sure if head or tail) back and forth quite violently.
I nearly jumped out of my skin! Its a caterpillar for heavens sake. (Never mind it is the size of Cleveland) What is my problem? I spent the next half hour waiting for it to uncurl (and trying to pretend I hadn't nearly soiled myself) so it could be shot in proper Cleveland sized mode, (and so you can all agree that I had every right to jump.)
To my chagrin it looks very un-apposing, and not so Clevelandesque in any of the pictures I took, which only confirms my suspicion that I am turning into a panty waist.
So, here is the green thing. I tried to look up what sort of moth it would be, but can't find an exact match. I think it is some sort of sphinx moth though, and I think those are really cool.
I've been keeping an eye on it all morning trying to see where it ends up. Right now he's wedged between some bricks and a wall. ...... thats funny... I feel like that is where I spend much of my time too.
8 comments:
Oh my gosh! You make me laugh! Perhaps because I too have come close to soiling myself when confronted with frightening/disagreeable things. I can tell from the comparison to the knife that it was no small green monster. I could send the images on to Tim and see what he says about it's possible next life status.
Thanks for the laugh. Sorry you were so traumatized- but I'm impressed that you soldiered on and got the pic in spite of your panty - wastiness...(not a word I know).
What a cool little critter. Although not exactly small by caterpillar standards. I'm a big wimp, too. I still can't hold a live shrimp because they're too jumpy.
I call you crazy amazing for going back for more. Cool pics! This is me standing on a chair lifting one piece of laundry at a time with a hanger because a hobo spider ran into the pile while I was folding. I scared my kids to death!!
WOW~! there are some LARGE critters that call AZ home. I remember a certain tarantula crawling by the campfire down along the Verde River years ago, and then there was the nasty scorpion by a water tank somewhere by the Verde as well...I have NO fond emotions toward any of their kind...Glad you survived the taunting of the Green Bratwurst!!
Uber caterpillar!! I wouldn't have gone near it. I just don't like bugs. It looks cool though. I also would want to know where it ended up.
A caterpillar that big is for sure ready to cocoon. I'm excited for it to be in your back yard. So cool. I'm excited for the next pictures. Wow. You can name it if it stays.
The knife definetly gives it scale. Maybe age does turn us all into pantywaists (a word I HAVE heard before). This summer when we were baiting the kids hooks, I had to keep telling myself "they're just worms, they're just worms". I can handle them until they start squirming!!
Whoa! That is one humungo catepillar....really cool. I would have watched and hung out with him for a while, too :)
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