Changed My Avatar...

[mitbrown]

...To something less incriminating :tinfoil:

I found this bigass caterpillar under a giant Hickory :eg: tree when I was camping at Roaring River in Arkansas.

Yes, that's next to my sun glasses. He's somewhere in the neighborhood of six inches long.

 

[rangedunits]

Look shooped to me.

Look like mashed paper/cardboard.

 

[mitbrown]

LOL I know when I first saw this guy in person, it took me a few moments to realize that he wasn't made out of rubber or plastic or something. The moment I realize that it was moving..

 

[iFoSh]

Daaaang! I've never seen one of those here haha. Love Roaring River though! Nice pic!

 

[mitbrown]

Look shooped to me.

Look like mashed paper/cardboard.

A more convincing image, this may be.

 

[daguin]

Looks like a member of the hornworm family. I have never seen one with quite that level of decoration, but most of it's physical appearance fits.

They pupate into some Killer BIG moths :drool:

Peace,
dave

**EDIT** -- This is NOT from that particular caterpillar. I am just showing this relative to show the size of the moths in this family
They are very rarely seen in the daylight

 

[pullbangdead]

On second thought, that thing looks like it's already well on its way to becoming Mothra even without the radiation, maybe we shouldn't nuke it....so instead just

 

[mitbrown]

:crackup: Pullbangdead, easy, it's actually a harmless caterpillar man!
haha

This one in particular is called a Hickory Horned Devil.

 

[3zuli]

mitbrown, this is an laser forum, not caterpillar forum... you should at least add some laz0rs to that picture :eg: LOL
j/k

 

[Ezcal]

What the hell! Can you get a video of that for us? That's sweet! And really weird!

 

[mitbrown]

What the hell! Can you get a video of that for us? That's sweet! And really weird!

YouTube - Hickory Horned Devil North America's largest caterpillar!!!

There you go:beer:
NOTE: NOT MY VIDEO, I JUST PICKED IT FROM YOUTUBE

 

[RA_pierce]

Wow. What did you do with it?
I would have kept it in a terrarium to watch it metamorphose.

 

[mitbrown]

I wanted it to survive, and the only way I could surely facilitate was to take him to the nature center there at Roaring River. :wave:

 

[RA_pierce]

I wanted it to survive, and the only way I could surely facilitate was to take him to the nature center there at Roaring River. :wave:

Good choice. The biggest caterpillars I've seen are tomato hornworms. We had them often in my mother's garden growing up.
I've had a few different creepy crawlies as pets, the largest was Scolopendra Subspinipes (sp.), a giant centipede. The sucker was almost 8 inches long as an adult.

 

[mitbrown]

Good choice. The biggest caterpillars I've seen are tomato hornworms. We had them often in my mother's garden growing up.
I've had a few different creepy crawlies as pets, the largest was Scolopendra Subspinipes (sp.), a giant centipede. The sucker was almost 8 inches long as an adult.

WOW, a Scolopendra Subspinipes is not a pet for an arachnophobe.
I'm guessing they aren't exactly harmless either. :tinfoil:

 

[00Giorge]

That's one nasty looking worm!