Four-eyed monsters found in Eastington!
What on Earth…?
I came across several of them, munching their way through a patch of Himalayan balsam. They had four great big scary eyes and, when I disturbed one, its eyes swelled and the front of the body reared up and swayed menacingly like an angry elephant’s trunk!
So what are these ‘monsters’? Believe it or not, they are completely harmless caterpillars.
When they are fully grown they are about 3 inches (7.6 cm) long. You might find one browsing on willowherb, bedstraw, balsam or, less popularly if you are a keen gardener, on your fuschias. The big ‘eyes’ (not really eyes at all and not on the head), scare off any but the boldest bird that might fancy a caterpillar snack.
The monsters I found were feeding themselves up in preparation the next stage of their transformation from caterpillar to moth. When they are ready, they’ll go down to the ground and spin a loose silk cocoon of leaves and soil around their body. A final moult and they’ll become shiny dark pupas. All through Winter and Spring extraordinary changes will occur inside the hard, protective pupa cases until, next Summer, the cases will split open and the beautiful pink and green Elephant HawkLmoths will emerge.
From beast to beauty, this is the wonder of metamorphosis.
Val Taylor
Elephant hawk-moth Photo: © Ian Kimber
