What might this creature be?

[Gilli]

Am hoping some of you clever people might be able to satisfy my curiousity.

My 2 youngest cats were engrossed in the garden today playing for an hour with something in the grass. I couldn't quite see what it was until one of them batted the "thing" onto the patio and I could then see what I'd thought was a bit of plant, was in fact a large "grub" !

This creature was about 4 (!) inches long, fat, like a witchetty grub, but black, with horrid sucker like feet. I left them to it as you can imagine ..... goodness knows where they'd dug it up from.

What on earth was it ? This was no ordinary common or garden caterpillar but much much bigger.

Any ideas gratefully received (I'm still shuddering from the sight of it !)

[Cetti]

What about an Elephant Hawk-moth caterpillar?  Or a Vine Weevil? The latter is really disgusting and is likened to a Witchetty grub, although I'm not too sure whether they grow to 4 inches.

It's a start anyway. Look them up and see what you think.

[Gilli]

Nope Cetti - neither of those so far as I can see, The vine weevil larvae is white, like a wichetty grub as you say.

[liquoricemad]

It wouldn't be a leatherjacket would it? (Crane fly larva).

Don't think they're black, though. Or 4in long! Biggest caterpillar I know of is the Silk Moth caterpillar, but that's a greenish colour.

[dothawkes]

Was it not the pet of one of those pesky elves or goblins that are so taking over urban areas these days.

[Cetti]

Have another look at this: http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk/elephantmth.htm

as it fits the description and size -  some are very dark indeed. The colour does vary enormously. You didn't take a picture of this 'thing', did you Gilli?

[lindapinda]

I'm dying to know what this is Gilli,the worst i've ever had to contend with,with my two cats,is a mouse,spider or last week, a butterfly.

[Gilli]

I think you might be right about the elephant hawk-moth Cetti ..... when I searched for images, i didn't find pictures as clear as these. The thing the cats had did look very much like this but it was darker - and, like the blurb says, it's head bulges when alarmed - which I guess it would have been having been tossed up in the air and thrown about for nigh on an hour.

7.5cm is about right, but I swear the one my cats had was around 4 inches long, making it nearer 10cm.

I wonder where it came from though ? Are the moth eggs laid in soil or what ?

Thanks for your help

[Gilli]

That's nothing LindaPinda .......2 of my cats are long-haired and I am always picking out bits of leaf, grass and seeds from their fur to avoid knots and tangles.

One of them was sat on my lap the other day while I was watching TV and I was absent-mindedly picking out sticky burrs when I realised the last thing I'd felt for and had picked out was slimy ..... when I looked down I realised that somehow the cat had picked up a slug (!!!) in its fur - at which point I shrieked and flung the slug across the room before rushing off to wash my hands several times over. When I came back in, I found the slug had landed on the radiator and was slithering about on it !

[lindapinda]

oh god gilli,that  is definetely gross!I I don't mind picking up slugs in the garden,but on your cat's coat!! My two are house cats and shorthaired,but its amazing how they all can come in contact,with horrible bug life,and still appear as if its totally normal! If you know what I mean?

[Cetti]

This appeared last year on my garden wall - and it was enormous! Hope you can see it.

[Robinia]

Eeek!  I'm not too keen on grub-like things & that looks like a monster! Two little girls recently found an Elephant hawk caterpillar in this area & were in our local paper.

 I did have to evict a huge spider last night - a 4" tumbler only just covered it & it was jumping up & down inside!

[Gilli]

I've been searching for info on the elephant hawk moth and found this link:

MothSightings

It would appear that the moth grubs are quite often routed out by cats from what people say ! One report says they though it was half a snake !

Interestingly, this has also answered the mystery of what another cat bought in a few years ago - which was a very large moth with a body the width of my little finger which was a vivid fuscia pink with little bits of fawn. Seems that was probably an Elephant hawk moth too !

[liquoricemad]

Phew! Glad you found out what it was, Gilli. These sorts of things are ok as long as they're safely underground, or whatever! Last week we had a shed delivered and this thing flew out of it-

http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/wildlife/insects_giant_wood_wasp.html

I managed to catch it in a glass, it's "ovipositor" stuck out behind it and it looked like a horrible stinging thing - before I found out what it was. Blimey, it was as big as a dragonfly! Apparently harmless though - so I let it go!

[Chillum]

I do like a good beastie question. Why are they all so bleedin' repulsive?

[pompomfairy]

it sounds like a leech dont let them play with it again coz it will get on there skin and start to suck there blood there horrible to get off