This is in fact a member of the Looper Caterpillar group. It has a fake face and hides its real face by curling it up and presenting the fake one, while blowing itself up to scare off predators, mainly birds. Thankfully it didn’t scare off the photographer!
Loopy caterpillar II
Remember yesterday’s shot? This is the same caterpillar only a minute or two after the first photo. I was adjusting my settings and then looked at it again only to find it had changed its demeanor.
Loopy caterpillar
Looks innocent enough but have a close look at it and note the white and black markings about 3/4 way down the body. When you see tomorrow’s photo of the same caterpillar you’ll see a dramatic transformation designed to scare off birds.
Sprung!
Oh, oh, I’ve been sprung. Time to get out of here I think. Once he realised he was being watched, he flew off.
Yum, plum!
Think he’s really enjoying his stolen fruit!