I don’t remember seeing these in Barbados as a child growing up, nor as a young adult. In fact, I’m only aware of seeing these very large and conspicuous caterpillars here within the past five or so years. I suspect that they were around just not in large numbers, and I know they are quite common in other islands. I suspect that our changing weather patters have been conducive to the increase in populations - recent years have been wetter with shorter dry seasons. Another way to put it is that the dry seasons haven’t been that dry.
However, now, every year for a couple months, frangipani trees on Barbados are taken over by the Frangipani Hawkmoth Caterpillar, and a tree can be cleaned of leaves in a matter of days.
Here in Barbados, I’ve seen my neighbour go outside early in the mornings with a can of insect spray in hand to kill the ones that are on his trees. The spray works well and did not seem to harm the tree, which now, several months later, is lush and green again.
The caterpillar shown in these photos was walking along the ground about fifty feet away from the nearest frangipani tree, so I suspect it was looking for a place to pupate and I got these pics en route, and no, I did not harm the caterpillar.
This one was a good four inches long and easily half an inch fat. I haven’t yet seen a pupa anywhere, nor the eggs nor the adult moth in close enough proximity that I can get a photo - not sure where all of the newly hatched moths go!
I think the Frangipani Hawkmoth Caterpillar is quite beautiful, and I love the fact that they can parade around in the middle of the day without having to worry about predators (other than humans) as they are poisonous from feeding on the poisonous milky sap of a frangipani tree or allamanda shrub. Nature is very cool.
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