Thursday, September 18, 2008

Already in transformation!

WOW!! Day 4 after having captured our most interesting Cecropia Moth Caterpillar ...... one has started to spin his web like cocoon. It is just amazing how attached we have gotten to these critters. After having to fetch fresh leaves from the bush we found them on daily and cleaning out their HUGE poops. They just ate and pooped and ate and pooped. Then the one decided he was done eating and ready to do his thing.


In this picture you can see the one caterpillar at the top not yet ready. But the white blob is the other caterpillar encased inside his web like cocoon. We actually got to see him making it. It was amazing! His head would go back and forth above himself making strings of web which appeared to be with his mouth. We watched on and off all day long.

This morning it is in full cocoon. The color has changed and the shell has hardened.

This moth is North America's largest moth. It will become the Saturnid Moth with large colorful wings.

I actually found these next pictures on the web and a guy actually slit open the cocoon to peek at it during its stage of transformation.

Here it is when we started just 4 days ago.

This is the stage it is in now. How crazy is that!

In a day or so it will look like this inside its cozy home.


Then this amazing change and so on. We will keep it outside in a safe place in its habitat so it can adapt to the weather changes. It will stay in its cocoon all winter and will emerge next Spring. Pray for out little friend and hope the conditions are just right for it to become the Saturnid Moth. We will keep you posted of any new events with our new critter friend.

1 comment:

Janda said...

AMAZING!!! That is so COOL, they are huge!! I cant wait to see what they look like!! All Winter???? that stinks:)