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Bring Your Own Caterpillar - _TNY_5264

Me and the family are spending two weeks of August at my mother-in-law's place outside Härnösand, Sweden - about 500 km north of were we live.

 

When driving there, with like 10 km left, I had to make a bathroom break.

 

With no toilets around on the side of the road, I jumped down into the ditch to disappear out of sight. Down there I noticed this one climbing on a fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium) so when I was done I broke of the top of the flower and went inside the car and brought it with me (no, I don't bring my camera with me on toilet breaks!).

 

After arriving at the house I located another fireweed and had this one climb over where it immediately began muching on one of the leaves.

 

This caterpillar is the fourth and second-to-last instar of the bedstraw hawkmoth (Hyles gallii) and I would *really* like to spot the adult moth later.

 

Pretty nifty spike there on its butt, right?

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Uploaded on August 8, 2023
Taken on August 6, 2023