Caterpillar resembling a snake

Question

I found a very interesting caterpillar. It's 5 cm long and looks like a snake. I discoved it in a greenhouse on a vine in the Czech Republic.

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I found two types: a green one and a brown one, both with same length.

What species is it?

Answer 1

Looks like the larvae of an elephant hawk moth (Deilephila elpenor).

^{Green Variant. ©2005 Henk Wallays (CC BY-NC 3.0)}

• In the Sphingidae family (like the snake-mimic caterpillar in this post).

Description: typically brown-gray color with black dots along length of body. Young larvae are yellowish-white or green, but some mature larvae also can be green colored. Fully-grown caterpillars reach 7.62 cm in length.

• Have a backward curving spine or "horn" on the final abdominal segment.

^{D. elpenor color variation. Source: A.R. Pittaway & I.J. Kitching}

Range: Most common in central Europe and is distributed throughout the palearctic region.

Habitat: variety: including rough grassland, heathland, sand dunes, hedgerows, woodland, open countryside, and even urban gardens.

Source: Wikipedia