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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Silkworm, Sphinx, and Royal Moths (Bombycoidea) » Sphinx Moths (Sphingidae) » Macroglossinae » Macroglossini » Hyles » Spurge Hawkmoth - Hodges#7892 (Hyles euphorbiae)
Photo#115569
Unknown caterpillar from South Dakota - Hyles euphorbiae
Copyright © 2007 Mark Doperalski

Unknown caterpillar from South Dakota - Hyles euphorbiae
Big Stone, Grant County, South Dakota, USA
August 15, 2006
Size: approximetely 3" long
Like a piece of artwork, I've never seen anything like it.
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Contributed by Mark Doperalski on 5 June, 2007 - 10:27am
Last updated 20 February, 2010 - 2:12pm

ID
This looks like the Spurge Hawkmoth caterpillar (Hyles euphorbiae), which was introduced to help control leafy spurge.
… John Davis, 5 June, 2007 - 10:40am login or register to post comments

Spurge Hawkmoth
This is the caterpillar of the Spurge Hawkmoth, Hyles euphorbiae (click on link for more info). They were introduced in the North as a means of biological control, since these caterpillars feed on leafy spurge, a plant that people don't like, apparently.
… Bobby Grizzard, 5 June, 2007 - 10:35am login or register to post comments

 
It's not a question of liking or not liking
the plant, but rather how much damage the unrestrained growth of invasive leafy spurge is doing to native plant communities (and their specialized insects!) in the northern states.
… john and jane balaban, 5 June, 2007 - 5:49pm login or register to post comments

 
I guess it's like kudzu, huh?
I guess it's like kudzu, huh?
… Bobby Grizzard, 5 June, 2007 - 6:22pm login or register to post comments

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