In light of World Poetry Day, I crafted a haiku about the white-lined sphinx (Hyles lineata). It is commonly found in the the south west of the United States of America.
The highway is slick;
Caterpillar guts spread thick.
Super Bloom Season
The White-lined sphinx (Hyles lineata)
Photograph by Rumaan Malhotra, Posted with permission.
Behind the poem....
I received this photograph from Rumaan, who is currently in California. There is a wildflower super bloom occurring in the south west USA deserts this year and he said that he has been seeing these caterpillars everywhere!
Apparently, white-lined sphinx (Hyles lineata) caterpillars are sometimes so numerous that roads are closed because the caterpillar guts make the roads dangerously slippery! I bet that with the super bloom, this is one of those years...