Southern Emerald Moth caterpillar

Habitat:

The caterpillar's foodplants include Sunflower, Bidens, Rudbeckia sp. They range from southern US to South America including the islands of the Caribbean. This one found at disturbed field in suburban park.

Notes:

I was looking at lots of wasps and dragonflies in this field when this tiny guy caught my eye. It looks like a clump of dry leaf or wilted flower, but was "inchworming" its way up the stem of a Bidens alba (Spanish Needles or Common Beggar's Tick.) As you can see this member of the Inchworms (Geometrid Moths) covers its body with bits of plant material to achieve a superb camouflage. It stopped moving when it noticing me taking pictures and would not move even when pushed a little. In the last pic, you can see the pieces of petals and seeds on it, and the tip of my index finger for an idea of size.