Death's Head Hawk Moth still a Green Catepillar

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"The caterpillars come in three colors—bright yellow, bright green, or a mottled brown—and have a tail horn that changes color and curves as the larvae mature. They feed on more than 100 plants, including nightshade, and grow up to 5 inches long. You don’t want to mess with them: When threatened, they click their mandibles and try to bite their attacker!" Then they return to the soil for change: "The caterpillars molt four times before it’s time to pupate, at which point they cover themselves with a saliva-like secretion and go to ground. When they find a suitable spot, they burrow 5 to 15 inches below the surface and shed their skins." Then they eventaully turn into a BIG Skull-backed Moth! " The moths are big: The smallest, styx, has a wingspan between 3 and 5.11 inches; lachesis, the largest, has a wingspan of 4 to 5.19 inches; and atropos has a wingspan of 3.5 to 5.11 inches." Some very interesting facts about where and how this Moth has been portrayed are in the following fascinating truths: "The moth has popped up in literature: In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the titular vampire sends the moths to his thrall, Renfeld. Thomas Hardy wrote about them in The Return of the Native. John Keats mentioned them in his poem “Ode to Melancholy.” Thomas Harris’s book Silence of the Lambs, the killer places the pupae of the Acherontia styx in his victims throats. " And that my dear friends is the information on the HUGE worm we found in the garden yesterday. These facts are taken from the google site "caterpillar identification -South Africa" - very interesting and information. Thank you Judy for give me the heads up to peruse it and find the answers to my questions. Enjoy the read!