September 27, 2006: Big-ass caterpillar

[Undertoad]

Wolf not only finds this one, she does all the legwork of getting info on it, all credit to her.

This shot was taken by a park ranger "somewhere in Pennsylvania". This thing is wider than the guy's finger and as long as his hand! Whoa!



It turns out that the beast, in caterpillar form, is called the "hickory horned devil" - more images here. And yeah, it's typically 5" long. They say it's not harmful to humans. They say.



But when it turns into a moth, it's underwhelming despite its new name, the "regal moth".

Sure, we've seen that story before -- the big, colorful, horny youth, who turn rather plain as they age but continue to think of themselves as royalty.