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BUTTERFLIES, MOTHS and CATERPILLARS

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Australasian Privet Hawk Moth Caterpillar, photographed at my home at Batemans Bay on the south coast of New South Wales.

The title required no thought, because as soon as I saw the attitude of the Caterpillar on my computer screen, it just had to be from “Alice in Wonderland”!

An easily identified large green caterpillar with straight dark horn on tail and seven white diagonal stripes on each side of its body. The stripes are shaped like small long leaves with a stem. One outer edge of each stripe looks like a shadow, and is coloured like the caterpillar’s straight tail-horn — somewhat dark plum or brownish. The last stripe runs into the horn on the tail. The caterpillar’s head is covered in tiny white bumps.

Size:
6 or 7 centimetres
(2 to 3 inches).
Or in the case of this one, more like 8cms!

They like to blend into background to hide their munching destruction of the garden greenery, in spite of which, I returned him to his home!