big green caterpillar
On a recent walk around our neighbourhood, we spotted this brilliantly coloured BIG caterpillar moving slowly along the street. We'd never seen one like it. Husband picked it up gently with a leaf while I found a discarded takeout cup in which to carry it home, showing it off to some young children we passed by. At home, husband took many photos and I googled for its name. It looks like it may be a Polyphemus Moth Caterpillar - Antheraea polyphemus, which transforms into a giant tan colored silk moth with an average wingspan of 6 inches (15 cm)!
Oh, and what happened to our captive? Husband put it back in the cup with leaves and a blackberry and placed it under the brambles just outside the corner of our yard. The next morning, the leaf and the caterpillar were gone. We hope it survived and metamorphosed into that lovely moth. I would have liked to have seen that moth.
Marja-Leena | 29/09/2008 | 11 comments
themes: Neat stuff
Comments
Yes. A succulent photograph. But if I were a bird, could I postpone such a morsel until it became a moth?
Posted by: Joe Hyam | 09:41 29 September 2008
Joe, thanks. I like to think we saved this particular caterpillar from a bird!
Posted by: marja-leena | 10:17 29 September 2008
Love it's red dots, such a cute one!
Posted by: Cathy | 17:38 29 September 2008
Cathy, I think it's cute too.
Posted by: marja-leena | 19:15 29 September 2008
Hi Marja-leena, thank you for stopping by Kolokolo! I've been enjoying your photographs too - that caterpillar is quite something! My bet is that birds know he's not too palatable - his spikes look like deterents to me. His family probably decided that with spikes like those they could afford to sport bright colors to show themselves off!
Posted by: Julia | 00:11 30 September 2008
We are a somewhat divided family on this one. I admire the way you turned it into a show-and-tell whereas my wife, a pathological mothophobe, would probably have a violently different view ("A wingspan of 6 in? Arghh!"). All grist to the SLR, though, and that's what counts.
Posted by: Barrett Bonden | 08:36 30 September 2008
Hi Julia! Lovely to see you here. Yes, I think you must be right about the spikes protecting this otherwise juicy looking meal.
Barrett, I'm like your wife if the moth appears in our house! Especially the little ones known to get into flours, or the woollens. I would not let husband bring this one indoors, believe me. Nature has its place, heh.
Posted by: marja-leena | 08:55 30 September 2008
Oh but you could have kept it and fed it bramble leaves and watched it chrysalise and hatch. I did that with some swallowtails.
I'm not sure I like the fleshy coloured bit at one end...
I'll read the big arts funding post when I've more time...
Posted by: Lucy | 22:31 02 October 2008
Lucy, actually we released it within the hour but put it inside brambly blackberry bushes for safety. Yes that end is a bit odd looking. Did you notice the amazing suction cup feet ?
Posted by: marja-leena | 03:20 03 October 2008
hei kaima! Jänniä töitä. Karselin Galleria-sivujasi. Olen joskus aikaisemminkin käynyt sivuillasi.
Nyt huomasin, että meillä on kommenteissa käytössä nimemme lähes samoin kirjoitettuna. Sinulla pienin kirjaimin ja minulla isoilla alkukirjaimilla.
Yritän useimmiten käyttää Spektriä, mutta esim. Google-tilissä nimerkkini on Marja-Leena.
Sekaannusta lisää vielä se, että olemme molemmat kuvataiteilijoita ja ehkä lähes samanikäisiäkin!
Asumme kuitenkin eri puolilla maailmaa.
Posted by: Marja-Leena alias Spektri | 05:52 05 October 2008
Hei ja kiitos, Marja-Leena (Spektri)! Onpa hauska tavata kaiman ja vielä myös kuvataiteilijakin! Muistaaksen vain kerran aikaisemmin on tapahtunut. Vilkaisin blogiisi ja olen pannut RSS lukulistaan, on hauska pitää yhteyttä suomeen tällä hauskalla tavalla. Jatketaan...
Posted by: marja-leena | 09:18 05 October 2008