Once on the ground it will find a sheltered place where it will pupate, liquefy and transform itself into the familiar and beautiful Hawkmoth.
This current creeping arboreal being, this otherworldly form is no less miraculous or magnificent though.
At the slightest hint of danger those huge false eyes will swell and look upon the predator with a fearsome but entirely harmless ferocity.
In this way it continues its lepidopteran journey towards its final transformation into an aerial masterpiece, a Gaian work of art.
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Photo: Vine Hawkmoth at Saladaviciosa. Courtesy of the author.