Ive never seen one of these before and at first I thought it was something dreadful in my Garden, it has a spike on the back which i thought could give out a sting but it appears to be harmless so i let it go .
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Iāve seen these a few times, had them in the garden. Like you, I wondered what on earth it was the first time I saw one. I love the way it has markings like two eyes to ward off predators - nature is so pretty.
Iām very phobic about moths, cannot be in the same room with one, particular the large hawk moth types, but I have to say the elephant hawk moth is such a beautiful moth - I really wish I wasnāt so scared of them!
My niece posted on fb a picture of one of these in her garden, asking what it was. It was huge, its been eating her plants.
Seems to be a lot about just now
Looks like the caterpillar.
Eliza, donāt worry about them, they are harmless, we had them in our garden, but yours is not adult yet, thatās still a Caterpillar, it will grow into an ugly big moth.
These extraordinary creatures love fuchsias so if you see one leave it where it is. The moth that develops is stunning. I was lucky enough to see one last year and watch it develop.
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How can you possibly call them ugly They are stunning.
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That is beautiful. I donāt think I have every seen one!
They are lovely,from a distance.
Our one Janet was a Brown colour.
Then it was probably just a hawk moth as the Elephant Hawk is coloured and harmless I might add 
Eliza, I saw one wriggling across an old cart track last year when I was out with the dogs.
I can understand why you were a little alarmed, as I was too.
The size alone made me look twice, then whĆ t with those big āeyesā and the big spike sticking up, I quickly called the dogs away as I thought the spike might well be a sting.
I googled it when I got home and realised it was harmless. Strange looking things though, arenāt they.
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Ugly? Iām probably the most moth phobic person on the planet, and would scream if one of these came near me, especially in an enclosed space. But even I can appreciate how stunningly beautiful this is.
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Wow!
What a beautiful moth - I have never seen an Elephant Hawk Moth or Caterpillar before.
Incredible that such a dull brown caterpillar can turn into such a vibrantly coloured moth.
The caterpillarās āfaceā reminded me of the first time I saw a Puss Moth Caterpillar - that has markings that look like a giant face.
The first one I saw was at this stage of colour
That fierce looking āfaceā frightened the life out of me for a moment!
Then I had to look online to see what it was. Iāve seen a few of them since then, never more than one or two at a time in my garden.
It fascinates me that they change colour so much as the caterpillar develops, then it turns into a beautiful silky-furred silvery grey moth - they feed on willow trees and they remind me of those silver-grey furry catkins that we used to call pussy willow when I was a kid.
On the link below, I found a fascinating video (speeded up) of the whole life cycle from egg to moth, showing all the different colour changes it goes through (the video lasts about 15 minutes, if you have time to spare.)
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Itās the little ones that are the pests that chomp on my woolly jumpers .
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Great photo !
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I put the tape measure at side of it and it was just over 2inches and as thick as my finger
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@LongDriver ā¦Ive seen them twice in my garden this year , but they are so quick Ive never been able to get a photo of them.
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They tend to stick around the one spot in the garden around their preferred food ā¦ and they chomp happily on nasturtiums.
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