Sincuidados homeowner and McDowell Sonoran Conservancy board member Lynne Russell shared these pictures about caterpillars.
She said, "Prolific after our abundant monsoon rains, you have been seeing hundreds of these spectacular caterpillars on Lone Mountain and across the Valley. White-lined Sphinx Moths have four life stages: the egg, the larva (caterpillar), the pupa (chrysalis), and the adult butterfly. In their larval stage, they go through five instars (growth stages) reaching a length of to up to three and a half inches before burrowing one to four inches underground to pupate. Watch for the beautiful and large adult moths emerging now."
