Current Events > I found a cecropia caterpillar at my parents' house

(+) Yeah! (+)

My mother mentioned seeing caterpillar shit under their birch tree so I went out to look around and found it almost immediately. I was expecting a polyphemus because she had found cocoons under the same tree in years past, but a cecropia is even better. Will provide at least stock pics later. Hopefully will get actual pic of it at some point. There is a birch tree in the neighbors' yard back home so I'm gonna bring it with me when I go back. It is final instar and nearly full size so it will likely pupate soon anyway.

@dolomedes
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here's a pic

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i like those

they look like Cacti

Damn they turn into:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a0/46/25/a046252e13a4103f9614646a25ea53fd.jpg

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sabin017 posted...

Damn they turn into:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a0/46/25/a046252e13a4103f9614646a25ea53fd.jpg

thats P dope

dolomedes posted...

nice pic!

thanks. First one I've taken on new phone. I guess the camera is good :P

sabin017 posted...

Damn they turn into:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a0/46/25/a046252e13a4103f9614646a25ea53fd.jpg

yep. Largest moth in North America. I've never seen a live one, so I really hope this one makes it through winter and that it doesn't already have parasites. I have found caterpillars before but more than 20 years ago and my grandmother wouldn't let me take and rear them.

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sabin017 posted...

Damn they turn into:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a0/46/25/a046252e13a4103f9614646a25ea53fd.jpg

Looks like the Pokemon Volcorona, which is pretty cool

That thang is thicccc

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it will probably start setting up a cocoon today or tomorrow. Seems to be indecisive about whether it wants to eat more or fuss around in its container, kinda goes back and forth between those behaviors. Unfortunately I don't have a large enough container to give it lots of space or lots of stick/leaf/bark options, but hopefully it isn't so finicky that it panics, and just chills and puts something together.

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pic with sharpie for scale. When I hold the sharpie up to my screen, it's barely bigger in the pic, and since it's slightly closer on the table, the caterpillar itself is pretty much life size in that pic lol

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You caught a Caterpie!

Have you given it a nickname?

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das a fatti


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How did it taste? Did you cook it or eat it raw?

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Does it have enough room to make a cacoon in there? Do they have to hang from something or can they just make one lying down?

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skermac posted...

How did it taste? Did you cook it or eat it raw?

Looks slimy, yet satisfying.

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Machete posted...

Unfortunately I don't have a large enough container to give it lots of space or lots of stick/leaf/bark options, but hopefully it isn't so finicky that it panics, and just chills and puts something together.

A word of caution, I caught one of those guys as a kid and we kept it in a small container. It cocooned fine, but when spring came and he emerged there wasn't enough room for him to spread his wings. We didn't notice in time to let him out and his wings dried all crumpled. He couldn't fly. Kid me was devastated. Try to get him in a container with plenty of room ASAP. If he builds the cocoon on the wall of your container you probably won't be able to move him.

nfearurspecimn posted...

Have you given it a nickname?

nfearurspecimn posted...

Have you given it a nickname?

nfearurspecimn posted...

Have you given it a nickname?

nfearurspecimn posted...

Have you given it a nickname?

I NEED THE NAME

If you are going to take it out of nature. You should be decent enough to buy it right the size habitat or put it back.

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nfearurspecimn posted...

Have you given it a nickname?

RedJackson posted...

I NEED THE NAME

I might when it emerges. No way to tell the sex at this point. You can tell when it's a moth and technically by the pupa if you cut open the cocoon (which can be done perfectly safely but I don't want to risk it). I suppose I could pick a gender neutral name now and just roll with that. I don't have anything in mind so I'm open to suggestions >_>

Blue_School posted...

Does it have enough room to make a cacoon in there? Do they have to hang from something or can they just make one lying down?

TheOtherMike posted...

A word of caution, I caught one of those guys as a kid and we kept it in a small container. It cocooned fine, but when spring came and he emerged there wasn't enough room for him to spread his wings. We didn't notice in time to let him out and his wings dried all crumpled. He couldn't fly. Kid me was devastated. Try to get him in a container with plenty of room ASAP. If he builds the cocoon on the wall of your container you probably won't be able to move him.

My plans at this point are adaptable. I'm just gonna keep checking in regularly and doing what I'm doing until it's clear that it's started spinning the silk or at least setting up to do so. They generally attach to sticks/twigs, of which I put several in various positions, so it should be able to find a setup that works and when it gets started, I'll remove other clutter. If I can get a bigger container, I will, but if not, I'll be able to improvise. It seems to take more frequent and longer rest breaks after eating than other types of caterpillars I've had, so I think I may have jumped the gun on thinking it was ready to pupate. Could happen tomorrow, maybe the following day, but it's eating right now, so I doubt it will have any issues before I'm up in the morning. It hasn't shown signs of distress like rushing around trying to find a way out, so it seems content to chill on the sticks when it's not eating, which is normal and what it was doing when I found it.

About transplanting a cocoon... I can figure out if need be. It will winter over here on my parents' porch. They've had cocoons of similar species in past years and none died on them. I plan to bring it home in the spring. Should emerge in mid to late June depending on the weather, so when it comes to the time frame, I'll when to start keeping a frequent eye on it again. A lot can happen in that span of time anyway so I may very well have to completely change plans, but once it's pupated, it will be fine until then. I'm not worried about issues after emergence. Ideally I want to be able to watch it happen and take pics, maybe video, so I should have a refined plan by then. I haven't had a 100% success rate in my life with this, but past mistakes have been mostly due to being young and not having modern internet resources :P (and I've lost far, far more to parasites that they've been infected by before I've found them. Weirdly I've even found moth eggs that were already parasitized. I don't even know how that happens. Those were hornworms though, and as much as I like them too and have reared more of them than any other type of moth or butterfly, they are super abundant and considered agricultural pests that are crop-harmful, so I'm not that surprised.

Abiz_ posted...

If you are going to take it out of nature. You should be decent enough to buy it right the size habitat or put it back.

Not sure if just trolling or if I've mistakenly given you the impression that I'm some noob at this, but feel free to read the above response for anything that address any of your concerns. It's all covered but I can clarify anything for you if you need me to...

viewmaster_pi posted...

I've seen those before, or ones very similar. I remember them being more white than yellow. I had to look it up again because I couldn't remember. American Dagger Moth. I looked for them here yesterday actually because I found them during a visit a few years ago, but didn't find any this time.

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Do they bite? Venomous?

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Machete posted...

here's a pic

Whoa! Awesome! And damn wtf kind of camera do you have? Thats superb quality.

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Can't multi quote on phone and can't post on computer because annoying forced updates happening

I haven't had one of these before so when it is cocoon time, I'll figure out the best option when it starts. Most caterpillars I've had have been monarchs or swallowtails so I just let them hang normally... or hornworms that burrow into soil I put in for them.

The caterpillar will bite in self defense if threatened or attacked... or if very hungry and just trying to eat anything near it >_>. These are not venomous. Some species are but they tend to have hair or spines. Most just cause a mild to moderate rash (most spiny or hairy caterpillars are not venomous though). The only seriously dangerous caterpillar that I know of can actually be fatal and quickly too. The toxin thins the blood and people just bleed out through eyes and wherever else. Very unpleasant. Needs to be treated immediately to not be deadly. They live in the Amazon rainforest or something though, and I only know what I saw on some deadly venomous insect documentary several years ago. This one is harmless though and even if it bites in self defense, it won't break skin.

Camera is new phone. Galaxy A20. I was surprised by the quality. I don't take lots of pics so I wasn't looking for good camera as a feature, but this one is awesome.
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nice luna :). I found a caterpillar one time that had fallen into a pond and it was still alive when I got it out but died later, and my younger cousin found one once too when we were at this family camp/woods resort place in NH but it had parasites. I got them off but the damage was done :(

update: still eating. I'm going home tomorrow so it looks like I won't get to see it make its cocoon. I could take it back with me since there is a birch tree that hangs over my yard, but I don't have a good, safe outdoor area to keep it. Front porch and stoop by my door are not screened in (so parasitic predators could get in) plus my landlord has a dog that could potentially fuck with it. I would just stay here longer but I don't want any of my food at home going bad... so my mother will look after it and we'll stay in touch about it. Hopefully it will use sticks/twigs/bark I have in its container when the time comes, but we'll figure it out in any case.

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