This splendid caterpillar was photographed by Alan Watts on the path alongside Thornbury Farm Wood near Tesco. Alan said he thought it had finished shopping as it was heading away from Tesco.
It's the larva of an Eyed Hawkmoth which had probably been feeding on the leaves of willow or crab apple and was crawling off to pupate underground for the winter, and turn into one of these (below) next summer. The spike on the end of the caterpillar is not a sting, and its blue colour helps distinguish it from the very similar caterpillar of the poplar hawkmoth.
Photo: The Guardian
This moth only displays these eye marks if disturbed. It also rocks to and fro to scare off birds which might attack it.
The caterpillars have another way of avoiding predation: they hang upside down from twigs, pretending to be leaves, as you can see from this photo from the UK Moths website.
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