PromotedCountry intro
Eyed- Hawk Moth Caterpillar
Zoete Waters, Oud-Heverlee, Belgium (Nov 2015)
http://www.lepiforum.de/lepiwiki.pl?Smerinthus_Ocellata
This was a quite unique finding because it was also late in the year, or so we thought, for caterpillars.
We have not yet seen the adult although it is mentioned in several parts of Belgium. I guess they mimetize very well. We found the caterpillar in bushes of a woody-marshy are next to the lakes.
"Smerinthus ocellatus", the eyed hawk-moth, is a European moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of "Systema Naturae". The eyespots are not visible in resting position, where the forewings cover them. They are displayed when the moth feels threatened, and may startle a potential predator, giving the moth a chance to escape.
