Mother Earth: "LIFE CYCLE" of the SPHINX MOTH

I found this little baby caterpillar on a wild vine while working in my yard. He ate so much and grew so big, so fast. He was very shy and would pull his little head in as far as possible and clutch his six little hands together...as if praying I would just go away. Once he stopped eating, he began to run around and around the sand at the bottom of the container. It was as if he were trying to get away from himself and what was going on inside his body. Humans romanticize the transformation from caterpillar to moth or butterfly, but I can tell you it must be very frightening and even painful for them to experience. As his body began to contract and harden, he would writhe and thrash as if in pain. Once his body had become the brown chrysalis, only his torso would move back and forth periodically. After waiting for almost a month, the exquisite Sphinx Moth emerged. (One of the species in my "Life Cycles" Exhibit displayed in Children's Museum of Houston and San Antonio Children's Museum.))