September 26, 2010

Big Green Caterpillar

Yesterday at work a customer came in and said there was a Big Green Caterpillar in the parking lot. My co-worker ran out to see what it was and came back with this:



He is about 3+ inches long, plump and fat.



His little feet are like hooked suction cups and cling to everything, including my hand. I got to be the lucky one to take him home. I have a butterfly "house", really a mesh box that I can raise him in. I placed maple, oak, and willow in the house for him. We aren't sure what he is, so I thought variety might be good.





After a few hours in the house, I noticed this at the top of the house where he was hanging out:



I regret not getting more photos last night, thinking I could get some more this morning, but I woke up to find this:






Changes are happening!!!


Update: I now believe this might be a Polyphemus Moth.

12 comments:

  1. I love it! I never would have guessed.....now I can relax for the rest of the day knowing the identity of the mysterious Mr Chicken Salad.

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  2. Awwww... I wish the best for Chicken Salad! These are awesome pictures!

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  3. We agree with your id. HOW COOL! We've never seen one of these cats and would love too! The moth is so spectacular. It will be fun to watch it emerge in the spring.

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  4. So very cool. I'm so glad that you were able to take him so to share the experience with more folks. It's amazing to see it transitioning into the pupal stage so soon after arriving at your butterfly/moth resort.

    What species of leaf did he choose to cocoon in?

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  5. Barbaroo: It was a mystery leaf. I think it's some sort of willow. It's an unidentified tree in my yard. It always gets willow like flowers in early spring. I believe the chewing on the leaf occurred in the garden. I was just examining him and there is even more of a cocoon now. It is very solid white and "spun" thicker. I am unclear how it is produced and plan to try to find out! So fun!!

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  6. Go Chicken Salad!

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  7. Holy cow! What a sight to open your blog to...so cool! It will be interesting to see watch its progression.

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  8. Oh wow - that is one icky looking face!! HAHA - Cant wait to see what it looks like when it "hatches"!

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  9. Thanks for helping us discover what kind of caterpillar Mia found near our yard!

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  10. I discovered the same species. he mounted himself to a metal fence post lol. I should have taken before pics like the blog leader, but I will have after photos and possibly a video of him emerging. 4 days ago the cacoon fell and I brought him inside and now he is shaking and fluttering around enough to wobble his home lol..update soon. cordus2006@hotmail.com if you want some after and emerging pics/video send me a message. or tell me how to post them on this thread...

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  11. my sister fond one and it is doing the same thing!

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