Caterpillar

I found a caterpillar outside my room. The biggest I have seen and, for lack of a better word, the prettiest. The little guy reminded me of Heimlich from 'A Bug's Life', you know, the guy who thinks he is "a beautiful butterfly" at the end of the movie. So I decided to do the academic thing and found out what kind it was (I am very bored, a 3 month holiday will do this to a person), surprisingly the result of my effort (haha) was quite interesting. He is part of the Acherontia atropos species and when he grows up he will become a Death's-Head Hawk moth. Sounds pretty hardcore right?

A photo I took of the Caterpillar outside my room.

Heimlich from A Bug's Life.

Apparently the moth doesn't have the greatest of reputations; this is because of the cool little skull shaped pattern on its back. You might have even heard of him before. John Keats gives the moth a shout out in his poem Ode to Melancholy, and he is also in that little known book by Bram Stoker, you know, Dracula. You would most likely recognize the Death-Head Hawk moth from the Oscar winning film 'The Silence of the Lambs', where Buffalo Bill, the serial  killer who skins his victims alive, uses the moth as his calling card. The moth even takes centre stage in the movies poster. Quite the star. 

I would go ahead and this is self explanatory. 

Thats all.

Oh wait, Happy new year!