Stick, Snake or caterpillar?

Finally met the snake mimic caterpillar! Larva of a sphinx hawk moth (Hemeroplanes triptolemus). Thanks to Jake, Mike and Will who found the thing out in the ACR Maijuna on the Rio Napo, Peru.

[onedeep]

It transforms in to a butterfly that looks like a bald eagle when it's scared

[FischiPiSti]

I can't believe through natural selection and sheer randomness there was a mutation whos trait was to puff just a part of its body with air in a way that perfectly mimics another animal as a form of self defense against predators who themselves are afraid of said animal and have this trait only for its undeveloped form, and have the intelligence and perception to only use its ability in danger. This also means the window of time and place is also limited - both animals need to live at the same place and time.
Just think about it

[ElementalMaker]

That is absolutely amazing! It looks so much like a viper its unreal. Thanks so much for sharing!

[BAGGStheAugmented]

How does this evolution even begin to happen? Caterpillars just sitting around looking at snakes and they were like "yeah that's exactly what I wanna look like". It boggles my mind how things like this even happen at all in nature.

[emregeylani]

one downvote: caterpillar, for telling its secrets

[mjremy]

Oh my god, I am so happy to find this video!! I just saw a large moth today, two of them, buzzing around lantana bushes, here in Silicon Valley, CA. I was walking my dog this evening and they looked like hummingbirds. So I looked them up and they were Sphinx Moths. Then I find that one of them emits shrieks (high pitch) which when amplified by a bat amplifier, sound pretty terrifying - a series of machine like sounds. Then there is this one that has morphed into a viper. Astounding! How does a moth recognize the danger of a viper? How on earth does it color itself to look like one? I'm so astounded by the genetic ability of this little caterpillar to become like an octopus and change color and change shape. Nature is so magnificent. Thank you for this gem of a video! Looking forward to more of yours. Subscribed.

[adfasfuiuiui]

Saw you over on Stand Up Maths. You've insane quality videos. Subbed!

[mr_ThreeEight_]

"Finally found it" so how many snakebites did you have to go through to recognize it?

[crystalhawthorne]

Perfect example of animals defence mechanisms ; brilliance at it's peak .

[yanchu]

Thanks man.. I have lived my life to see this

[Giesela]

Definetely an effective optical illusion/camouflage!

[jibingeorge]

0:50 bird be like :hell.... yeah . Thought the snake was a body guard of the catterpillar. Now he ain't no snake but my snack. Next time you are going to perform your trick inside my tummy; dummy.

[lin-odvp]

my dad showed me this video..
super awesome!!

[NextGenScientistDiscover]

So awesome, always wanted to see one in the wild! Was this in Peru?

[SilentRunning]

I found this video on Facebook and I instantly recognized you

[nicksonlaishram]

Never seen in my life before thanks bro 👍👍👍

[ethancntower]

How would that even evolve? Would it provide some benefit before it actually looked like a snake?

[jeebangurung]

I never seen this kind of insect.thanx.

[franceleeparis]

Absolutely amazing... the wonders of nature... remarkable God creation... no one can tell me that this ‘evolved’...

[AnirudhTammireddy]

I'd have shiii my pants if I saw it do that.
This piqued my interest in mimicry studies.