Strange Caterpillar

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Can anyone identify this bug. It looks like a caterpillar.

It's a hawk moth caterpillar. Possibly a lime hawk moth. They're beautiful. And huge!

Oh wow thank you. I’ll look it up.

Agreed! It starts off bright green and turns this colour when it's ready to pupate.

I think they pupate underground, and can stay in the chrysalis for months and months.

Very interesting. Do you know if they can cause a rash if you touch them?

It tends to be furry caterpillars that can cause a rash, I think.

No. I've handled one with no ill effects at all. As @toochesterdraws says, it's the hairy ones you have to be careful of.

I saw one of those today and clicked on your thread just in case it was the same one! what are the chances?! It was on the pavement moving pretty fast, I now feel like I should have helped it find a pupating spot 😆

How strange! The children at school found it.

Have you looked at the poos? Elephant hawk moth caterpillar has rather fancy poos with 6 symmetrically placed lugs.

Like the picture on this page

That’s amazing!

The various Hawk Moths and their caterpillars are always a surprise when you first meet them. Worth looking out for, they're all very distinctive.