Caterpillar-of-the-Day Follow Along: Day 135 For today's caterpillar, enjoy a video from the TCL vaults of caterpillars doing what they do best... eating. Here is one of our lovely native giant silk moth caterpillars, the Promethea, devouring a cherry leaf. Don't miss the fantastic conclusion at the end of the video! -------- - Caterpillar: Promethea Moth - Callosamia promethea - Host Plants: Black Cherry, Ash, Spicebush, Sassafras, Buttonbush, Tulip Tree, Magnolia. - Range: Eastern North Americ

A moment we sometimes wait hours just to watch - the inevitable yet often unseen process of a caterpillar molting its exoskeleton in order to grow larger! And what better caterpillar to demonstrate than the magnificently colorful larva of our cecropia moth, Hyalophora cecropia. The most reliable way we can determine that a caterpillar is getting close to shedding (aka pre-shed) is by looking at its head. At the beginning of the video, look at the dark head capsule of the cecropia and you can see

The white-lined sphinx moth (Hyles lineata) is found across much of North America and is sometimes known as a "hummingbird moth" because of its large size and hovering flight. Diurnal populations of this moth prefer to nectar on brightly colored flowers (much like hummingbirds); nocturnal populations typically use pale or white flowers. Video: USFWS/Peter Pearsall Video contains no dialogue. | Desert National Wildlife Refuge

Giant sphinx moth caterpillar found in South Florida, larvae of the heaviest moth in North America! | Matt's Macrophotography

Giant sphinx moth and its caterpillar in the Florida everglades. Watch how I find them in the swamps. | Matt's Macrophotography

Lytic vs Lysogenic – Understanding Bacteriophage Life Cycles