Another huge caterpillar

I was out working on the flag pole and Dorah, who likes to bring home frogs, snakes, mice, etc.

Hermit Sphinx moth, Aren't they huge?

Another Sphinx

caught this and brought it in from our forest,
beside the lawn in the backyard. She dropped it on the lawn, and sat on it, so I wouldn't take it away. She did the same with a 2' garter snake. Sigh.

     "Nothing here, Mommy. Go away."

This is:
Ceratomia amyntor Elm sphinx

They have a horn on the back, quite intriguing. A lovely bright green colour, unlike the scary-looking black one I found the other day. Also a sphinx. They are the largest moths, and quite non-descript.

From BAMONA

Wing Span: 3 1/4 - 4 1/2 inches (8.2 - 11.5 cm).

Life History: Fully-grown caterpillars pupate and overwinter in burrows underground.

Flight: . One brood in the north from June-July, two broods in the south from March-October.

Caterpillar Hosts: Elm (Ulmus), birch (Betula), basswood (Tilia), and cherry (Prunus).

Adult Food: Adults probably do not feed.

Habitat: A wide variety of forested and open habitats.

Range: Nova Scotia west to Saskatchewan and western North Dakota and Colorado; south to central Florida, the Gulf Coast, Texas, and New Mexico.

Elm sphinx from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
Dorah found a Ceratomia amyntor, Elm sphinx caterpillar in the forest. She brought it over to me and I liberated it.