r/HotPeppers • u/ObstacleAllusion • 2d ago

First time I've found one of these...

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And it makes me happy.

Usually it's just a worm and a denuded stalk.

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u/kinezumi89 2d ago

Everyone hates hornworms but they turn into hummingbird moths, which are pretty cool! (Well, not this one...)

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u/PicksburghStillers 2d ago

The hornworm pictured looks more like a sphinx moth caterpillar.

I did learn thanks to your comment what a hummingbird moth caterpillar looks like though. Very similar to the tomato horn worm.

5

u/kinezumi89 2d ago

So after some googling, it seems that "sphynx moth" and "hawk moth" are used interchangeably (with hawk moth being a colloquial term); I thought "hawk moth" was short for "hummingbird hawk moth", but it seems there are non-hummingbird varieties too. I thought all hornworms turned into hummingbird moths! A little disappointing, they're such cool little fellas lol