Have You Seen an Oleandar Hawk Moth Caterpillar?

oleander hawk moth caterpillar

This is an oleander hawk moth caterpillar, and isn’t it sinister looking? Those eyes look wicked, like an alien, a possessed alien, because I know so many aliens on a personal level. Not to mention, check out that little stub of a devil tail at the other end. You may be amazed to know the eyes are not really eyes. They are false eyes, or eyespots.

I found this oleander hawk moth caterpillar crawling across my front porch in Kona because it caught my eye after I opened the door. When I tried to guide it to a better spot, it immediately curled up. But it looks like it would want to eat me alive if it were ten times my size. Doesn’t it? Like it’s ticked off it is not bigger or it would show me exactly how mean it could be.

My neighbor told me there is an oleander tree at the end of my street, across the park. So tomorrow I am going over there to check it out. I have never seen a oleander hawk moth in real life. Feast your eyes on the picture below.

Yup, this is what the moth looks like when the caterpillar goes through metamorphosis. It is pink and green, yet resembles a fighter plane in camouflage, no? Just more weird critters in Hawaii. Tomorrow I will search for the oleander hawk moth caterpillars but maybe all I will find are chrysalis.

The oleander hawk moth looks more like a butterfly than a moth. Although it beats its wings very fast when flying, which is different from the fluttering of a butterfly.

Oh, the things I learn selling Sacramento real estate while in Hawaii. I talked with a potential seller a few days ago, and she seemed very surprised to learn I was still in Hawaii. She said it is something she needs to think about, even though I explained that real estate is handled basically by phone and computers. My team member will FaceTime me through the property, and I can meet her that way.

Sheesh, there are sellers I never meet because they don’t live in Sacramento. I sell many properties for sellers I never greet face-to-face much less even FaceTime!

I respond immediately to my clients. Most never know where I am, they just know I get the job done smoothly, efficiently and they are thrilled. How hard is it to wrap your head around those facts? In all of 2018, I probably spent half the year in Hawaii, yet I rank in the top 1% of all agents in Sacramento.

Performance and results is what counts. Not where I lay my head at night.

Well, it’s my fault for sharing anything personal with a potential client. The less I disclose about my personal life, probably better.

Elizabeth Weintraub

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