Pseudosphinx

The other day John spotted this funky looking caterpillar. The colors and patterns were like something from a Dr. Seuss book. Its head is the red end and on the rear is a black antenna that moved as he crawled. A quick internet search revealed that it is the Pseudosphinx tetrio moth caterpillar. Their food source is the Frangipani tree. We have one Frangipani growing here, but it's small and only has a few leaves. Surely, not enough to sustain this five inch long creature and move him onto his next phase of life. We watched in wonderment for a while as he crawled through the grass. I find it amazing that even though we have lived in Costa Rica for nearly four years, we still find new creatures to observe.