Am I Right In Thinking This Is A Hawk Moth Caterpilla ?

[marsh man]

This morning we had this ugly caterpilla moving about on the slabs in my garden , a Blackbird tried to have for it's breakfast but the caterpilla kept trying to have a go at the bird and in the end the Blackbird gave up , it was about 3/4 inches long and about half an inch across it's back . What do you think it is ?

[ditchman]

i cheated and googled it ...it certainly looks like it............first time ive ever seen one

[chrisjpainter]

well found, sir. Spot on.

[marsh man]

5 minutes ago, chrisjpainter said:

well found, sir. Spot on.

I once found a dead Death Hawk moth in perfect condition with a skull clearly seen on the back of it's head , it was on the roof of a building along the sea front at Yarmouth and the naturalist I took it to thought it might have crossed the North Sea and died when it rested . I believe it ended being set up and might well be on display somewhere .

[ditchman]

are yew goin'a train it boi

[marsh man]

6 minutes ago, ditchman said:

are yew goin'a train it boi

My next door neighbour is now the proud owner although he don't know yet , my wife wasn't that keen when it looked like it had a pair of eyes and was watching her putting the linen out , I had another first during the week , I have been catching a few mice in our humane mice trap in our garden that come and nick the birds grub that end up on the floor , one morning I looked out of the curtains and saw the arm up so I thought I had another one , I normally leave the trap where it is until I have finished my cup of tea and then take them down the farm where I then release them , anyhow when I went to the trap I couldn't at first see anything in the trap , and then I saw a long leg come up the side of the trap and a bloodx great Frog appeared , we have got a small pond in the garden so I released him / her back in the garden , I wonder what next . this was the very first mouse I caught which I think is a field mouse .

[islandgun]

Great find. This is a privet hawk moth caterpillar  i could pick up in their hundreds as a child, I lived on a council estate and all the gardens had a privet hedge, It does look like a field mouse [big ears]

Edited August 27, 2021 by islandgun

[The Mighty Prawn]

Definitely hawk moth, we get loads of the caterpillar in our garden but I’m yet to see the actual moth which is a shame as they’re gorgeous

[chrisjpainter]

10 minutes ago, The Mighty Prawn said:

Definitely hawk moth, we get loads of the caterpillar in our garden but I’m yet to see the actual moth which is a shame as they’re gorgeous

Have you tried a moth trap? Often worth a punt and if you get a good evening when you have a quiet day the next day, sitting down with a guide and having a bash at ID is a nice way to spend a morning

[bruno22rf]

We used to catch the Hawk Moth Caterpillars many years ago and keep them for a few days as pets, they felt amazing crawling up your arm, not seen one for a while now.

[biketestace]

Found one in my garden yesterday, well the dog did, sat staring at it for ages she did 🙄

[marsh man]

10 hours ago, chrisjpainter said:

Have you tried a moth trap? Often worth a punt and if you get a good evening when you have a quiet day the next day, sitting down with a guide and having a bash at ID is a nice way to spend a morning

THANKS for the interesting replies , much appreciated , would you know how long ( roughly ) it would take for it to turn into a moth , and also could you keep it , or allowed to keep it in say a glass tank until it goes through the process of caterpilla to a full size moth .

Regards       MM

[chrisjpainter]

11 hours ago, marsh man said:

THANKS for the interesting replies , much appreciated , would you know how long ( roughly ) it would take for it to turn into a moth , and also could you keep it , or allowed to keep it in say a glass tank until it goes through the process of caterpilla to a full size moth .

Regards       MM

I don't think there's any particular law on moths and butterflies as pets. They're caterpillars for nigh on a month, then overwinter as pupae, before coming out in June, so they're interesting for a few weeks as cats, then depressingly boring for months on end, then it's a case of waiting and watching as nothing happens in June. You go away and make a cup of tea and come back to find it's all over and there's a very indignant moth in the box. 

[marsh man]

4 minutes ago, chrisjpainter said:

I don't think there's any particular law on moths and butterflies as pets. They're caterpillars for nigh on a month, then overwinter as pupae, before coming out in June, so they're interesting for a few weeks as cats, then depressingly boring for months on end, then it's a case of waiting and watching as nothing happens in June. You go away and make a cup of tea and come back to find it's all over and there's a very indignant moth in the box. 

Excellent reply   THANKS

[ShootingEgg]

My nephew has just sent me a photo of a hawk moth!! He is very chuffed to have found it..

[39TDS]

Fairly confident it is an Elephant Hawk Moth. Found a caterpillar here last week.

My missus is terrified of moths, fortunately she wasn't in the kitchen a month or so ago when a massive bright pink moth flew in and was trying to get in the fly zapper.

[discobob]

On 27/08/2021 at 20:43, marsh man said:

My next door neighbour is now the proud owner although he don't know yet , my wife wasn't that keen when it looked like it had a pair of eyes and was watching her putting the linen out , I had another first during the week , I have been catching a few mice in our humane mice trap in our garden that come and nick the birds grub that end up on the floor , one morning I looked out of the curtains and saw the arm up so I thought I had another one , I normally leave the trap where it is until I have finished my cup of tea and then take them down the farm where I then release them , anyhow when I went to the trap I couldn't at first see anything in the trap , and then I saw a long leg come up the side of the trap and a bloodx great Frog appeared , we have got a small pond in the garden so I released him / her back in the garden , I wonder what next . this was the very first mouse I caught which I think is a field mouse .

We had a young shrew on our drive the other week - managed to pick him up and return him to the verge/hedgerow on the other side of the lane