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That's a shame. It's unfortunate when things like that happen, I always feel bad when I see it. On the brightside, their populations are large enough so that when many of the caterpillars die, they can still persist and aren't harmed by just one individual biting the bullet. That's a great thing about insect reproduction.
Unfortunately when it fell out of the tree it hit the pavement and split open. I took this picuture just minutes before it died. Strange how the death of a caterpillar could make me feel a little bad. Maybe the size and color had me envisioning it was a luna moth, regardless I guess never having seen one before, I just wanted more for it.
Looks more like a Polyphemus moth to me. A pretty good size too, it might go into its pupa stage soon. The adults are just beautiful, but are short-lived.