Synchlora aerata (also called Wavy-lined Emerald or camouflaged looper) caterpillar

[johnrmoyer]

One of the stranger things one might see in a garden.

A Synchlora aerata (also called Wavy-lined Emerald or camouflaged looper) caterpillar was feeding on the blossom of a Zinnia cultivar in Norman, Oklahoma, United States on June 13, 2026. This caterpillar camouflages itself by putting bits of foliage on spikes on its back. 

https://www.rsok.com/~jrm/2026Jun21_birds_and_cats/IMG_6031c_2026jun13_cterpillar.html 

A Synchlora aerata (also called Wavy-lined Emerald or camouflaged looper) caterpillar was feeding on the blossom of a Zinnia cultivar in Norman, Oklahoma, United States on June 13, 2026. This caterpillar camouflages itself by putting bits of foliage on spikes on its back.

Edited using Canon DPP software. Saved as 16 bit TIFF. Converted to JPEG using jpegli which produces either higher quality or smaller size than a JPG file saved from DPP. Other free software used include GraphicsMagick and Exiftool. The DPRAW tool in DPP is difficult to replace in other software. The micro adjust of focus point works like synthetic aperture RADAR. The "capture sharpening", Richardson/Lucy deconvolution in rawtherapee free software works like Canon "digital lens optimizer" to remove small aperture diffraction blur, but I speculate that Canon might know more about the point spread function for a lens they designed and might be able to do better than approximating the PSF using a Gaussian like rawtherapee.

Camera Model Name	Canon EOS R5
Lens Model	EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM +1.4x III
Focal Length	560 mm
Exposure Time	1/500
ISO	800
F Number	13.0
Camera Temperature	41 C
Measured EV	13.38
Measured EV 2	26.5
Focus Distance Upper	2.18 m
Focus Distance Lower	1.99 m

All of the edits done using DPP

CanonVRD:CanonDR4:Image	RawBrightnessAdj	-0.67
CanonVRD:CanonDR4:Image	WhiteBalanceAdj	Shot Settings
CanonVRD:CanonDR4:Image	UnsharpMaskStrength	2
CanonVRD:CanonDR4:Image	UnsharpMaskFineness	3
CanonVRD:CanonDR4:Image	UnsharpMaskThreshold	3
CanonVRD:CanonDR4:Image	DLOSetting	60
CanonVRD:CanonDR4:Image	GammaBlackPoint	+0.000
CanonVRD:CanonDR4:Image	GammaWhitePoint	+1.950
CanonVRD:CanonDR4:Image	GammaMidPoint	+0.000
CanonVRD:CanonDR4:Image	DPRAWMicroadjustBackFront	1
CanonVRD:CanonDR4:Image	DPRAWMicroadjustStrength	8
CanonVRD:CanonDR4:Image	CropX	1749
CanonVRD:CanonDR4:Image	CropY	963
CanonVRD:CanonDR4:Image	CropWidth	1350
CanonVRD:CanonDR4:Image	CropHeight	900
CanonVRD:CanonDR4:Image	CropRotation	0
CanonVRD:CanonDR4:Image	CropAngle	0
CanonVRD:CanonDR4:Image	CropOriginalWidth	5088
CanonVRD:CanonDR4:Image	CropOriginalHeight	3392

[SignifDigits]

Way cool pic and behavior!