M\ahoosive caterpiller

MouldyOldDough

Just seen this on a bush in the garden - must be 5 inches long and an inch fat

What could it be ?

elsien

Invasion of the body snatchers? 

theoretica

It's a bit blurry - but maybe privet hawk moth

elsien

Was misreading the page - yes, privet hawk moth has those stripes. 

MouldyOldDough

But its on a Buddleja not a Privet

Bradden

It may be lost... can you move it?

theoretica

MouldyOldDough said:

But its on a Buddleja not a Privet

It does eat other things.

Keep_pedalling

Definitely Privet Hawk-moth, our largest native moth species. It will over-winter as a pupa and hatch in the spring. You don’t normally find more than one or two on a single plant so they cause no real harm. They have quite a range of food plants including ash, lilac, honeysuckle and a range of other garden plants which obviously includes Buddleja.

Katiehound

lucky person

I've never seen one, 'though google suggests it is common.

What do privet hawk moths eat?

Privet hawk moth larvae mainly feed on the leaves of these shrubs and trees. Plant a privet hedge around the perimeter of your garden, and plant lilac bushes and ash trees throughout the garden. Privet hawk moths also feed on guelder rose, honeysuckle, holly, snowberry, spirea, vibernum tinus, and forsythia.

twopenny

They tend to pupate in the ground over winter. I used to unearth them when clearing under a hedge.

Just bury them shallowly again 

MouldyOldDough

Bradden said:

It may be lost... can you move it?

No it moved me - it's so big