We found this caterpillar in the garden when we were staying in Normandy a couple of weeks ago. Any idea what it is?

Death's Head Hawkmoth:

http://earthsky.org/earth/lifeform-of-the-week-deaths-head-hawkmoth-is-stranger-than-fiction

My parents have them around their house occasionally, they are impressively massive!

edit: the whole hawkmoth family are impressive - the Elephant Hawkmoth's caterpillar is a bit larger I think, and the Hummingbird Hawkmoth hovers to collect nectar.

Ah! We saw those when we stayed in France for a wedding a few years ago. I wondered what they were...

"It puts the lotion on its skin..."

Okay, the fact that they are moths that can *squeak* is amazing. And the fact that they make the squeak with their *mouth*? wow.

It's weird, normally bugs creep me out, but that caterpillar is really cool looking. The moth, on the other hand, is creepy... (but neat)

Here, try this one that I found hanging on my screen door. He's been there for two days now, and he really is a bug and really is alive. He's about four inches long.

tanstaafl.

That's incredible. It looks like it's made up of polygons.

That's the one The Silence of the Lambs, isn't it?

Yep. Buffalo Bill put that into the mouths of his victims to symbolize metamorphosis. He wanted to transform from something ugly into something beautiful.

Of course, while I know there are very beautiful moths in the world, I think this particular one looks prettier in its caterpillar form...

Ok, moving on to the next micro-monster :), I have been calling this a "grasshopper", but I am not really sure. What is it?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/taymtaym/9601353997/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/taymtaym/9601358323/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/taymtaym/9604601450/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/taymtaym/9601367295/

It was on my window, and I took the pics through the glass. I used my mobile phone flash to light it up a bit, as it was night outside, so I am not sure how it looks on the other side. It was 10cm long, excluding the antennas.

Hm. Some kind of Katydid?

A couple more in the same group:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tettigonia_cantans
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tettigonia_viridissima

That's it Tony.

I'm not entirely convinced that it's one of those exact species. I think it's close, but certain things about the facial structure of your bug are different from the wikipedia pics I linked.

Ok, I had it examined by my gf who - unlike me - happens to have some real knowledge on the topic, and she actually told me "Tettigonia Viridissima" as well (she does not know of this thread, so that makes me fairly confident that's the one). She's saying that subtle differences are possible (in case of sub-species) but very unlikely. She does not know if there are subspecies of the Tettigonia Viridissima.

I, personally, woundn't really know. The wikipedia pics are from the top, and the angle is too different for someone like me knowing nothing about insects to tell.

Wikipedia does have one picture of the underside and it looks just like your photo. It is ridiculously green and I'd call it "viridissima" as soon as look at it.

Peter

There it is! Did not see it before. Viridissima it is, then (yes, shockingly green. That's why it caught my attention and decided to take a picture of it. And because it was huge).
Thanks Peter.

And here are hundreds more images of Tettigoniae.

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=tettigonia%20viridissima