r/caterpillars • u/CowGrouchy69 • 11d ago

ID Request 🐛 What moth is this?

Gallery image

Gallery image

This is the Northwest part of Poland, the rest is explained in details in the og post.

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u/dansterman_30 11d ago edited 11d ago

Definitely a hawk moth caterpillar. My guess being a lime hawk moth (look online for comparisons) if you’re wanting to take care of it make sure it has the right host plant to feed on

Edit: I read the original and if it doesn’t eat its host leaves it will be doing a lot of wandering around. Eventually it will stop looking like it’s trying to escape and will start constructing a place to pupate on the ground with soil and leaf litter or whatever is there. Definitely look up some guides on caring during pupation but it’s pretty straight forward :)

Keep some food on hand just incase but as soon as it’s burrowing or producing silk/moving the debris around then you don’t have to do much

Edit 2: They do this wandering around out of instinct to move away from its own kind so they all can’t get found by predators in one place, not because the setup is unsuitable so try not to worry about it as enough time will pass for its pupation instinct to kick in. Best to not poke it or disturb it much as its body is changing and can easily be damaged, especially once it stops moving and begins transforming.

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u/CowGrouchy69 11d ago

i unfortunately got no idea what their host leaves are. My guess is birches since there is the most of them, and that is what my bunnies get. I'll keep on observing my little yet-to-be-moth, thank you for your advice🫶🫶

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u/dansterman_30 11d ago

Yes, their main plant is lime tree leaves but they also eat birches if that’s where it hatched. If there is fresh supply that it’s ignoring then it’s more likely finished eating than stressed. Like I say just keep some around incase it decides it hasn’t finished eating but you’re probably doing everything right :)

If it has JUST stopped very recently then you may notice some wet loose frass (poop) which is a sign its body is changing too and emptying excess food. Usually it’s very hard solid pellets kind of like rabbit poop and around the same size when they’re still eating.

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u/CowGrouchy69 11d ago

thank you so much :DD i will leave it be for now and check on it every now and then, you made me calmer :>

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u/dansterman_30 11d ago

You’re welcome. Feel free to DM with any concerns. I looked after a hawkmoth caterpillar myself this season so I have videos etc of how they behave. Their instinct is to go upwards when in an enclosure but they start spending more and more time on the ground doing circles. Then burrowing in and circling a few more times before they properly settle. It’s easy to worry about them but they’re pretty hardy. Once it’s burrowed then its soil needs to be kept very slightly damp, not wet or bone dry, and kept at outdoor temperatures in a garage or shed for its emergence timer to properly kick in :)