Saturday, September 11, 2010

Photoshopped?


So a long time ago I came across this photo of a blue Hercules moth caterpillar. Now I'm wondering if this is real or photoshopped.

I've never heard of blue caterpillars of any species but I guess there's a first time for everything yes? So if anyone can confirm that this is real don't hesitate to drop me a line.

Thanks! :)

6 comments:

JB said...

It is real! I think this photo came from an old National Geographic Young Explorers book

Brittanie said...

Wow!

I had a feeling it was but you can never tell sometimes because they're so good.

And I have to go and find that book. I wonder what it says on that? I also wonder what makes them blue?

So much to consider......*^^*

Vicky said...

Yucky.. But still cool.
Who knows? Photoshop is very real now a days, but it can be the first time I ever see a caterpillar like that ..

Brittanie said...

I know. I'll also ask around and get confirmation that this can happen.

Unknown said...

You'll find actual images of the larva of Cosinoscera hercules here:

Saturniidae Of The World Hercules Moth Page

It possible someone has tweaked the saturation of your image above, given the images on this page. However, there are some genuine blue caterpillars to marvel at, such as this one:

Lycaenid from Tanzania

Brittanie said...

Hello Unknown!

Thank you for the links. I know that Cosinoscera herculese larvae are supposed to be green in color as are most Saturniid larvae (with notable exceptions).

I'm going to ask my friend David as he specializes in Saturniidae and I think would be able to tell us all what's going on here for sure.

The caterpillar in the photo in the link you posted is not a Lycaenid.....no idea what it is but it's beautiful!

I'd go with Saturniidae or something similar....Limacodidae etc.

Thanks for dropping by ^^