Anonymous in NC
When they are huge and start turning color it usually means it is time to pupate. The other thing they do is roam around looking for a good spot to pupate.
They pupate in the soil where they stay for the winter.
I have seen a couple this week roaming so it must be that time of year...hope it does not mean this will be and early winter!
Thanks for putting it back out to do its thing. Hopefully you will see the moth next spring!
Found one in NC by: Anonymous
We found one on a big pine tree a few days ago, brought him/her home and he/she ate all the pine needles from the tree we brought home lickity split. His/her color went from bright green to pale green/brown so I figured he/she was dying. We put him/her in the grass near trees and now, he/she has burried his/herself almost completely! I guess he/she is getting ready to change ! How cool. We live in North Carolina and I have never seen such a BIG caterpillar!
imperial moth by: Anonymous
I have found a pregnant Imperial moth. She laid eggs, and thay hatched today, but there not eating any of the food I gave them (I started out giving them Sassafras, once I found out they didn't even nibble on it, I put every foodplant they eat with them). they have not eaten for a whole day, what is wrong with them, and how can I make them eat.
Tracking the little guys... by: Heather
Just wanted to add that we found one of these guys yesterday in our backyard. We live in a small town, along a busy main route, in New Oxford, PA. I looked online and found other pics and info on this and am excited that we got to see it up close but am sad that we wont get to watch his transformation. From what I gather he's going to borrow into the ground and not reappear until the spring. Very cool though :-).
http://bugguide.net/node/view/340862/bgimage
Imperial moth caterpillar by: Moni
Anonymous
It would be best to put the caterpillar outside near a wooded area that is not where people might step on it.
It is about to pupate and the Imperial Moth differ from the other Giant silkworm moth caterpillars in that they pupate in earthen cells in the ground instead of cocoons above ground.
As seen in the caterpillar in the photo of this comment section when caterpillars are fully grown, they will be 4-5 inches or more long, then begin to shrink like an accordion in preparation to changing to pupae.
It is best to put the caterpillar outside because rearing them overwinter is very hard to do...Mother Nature knows the right conditions to successfully get the moth to hatch in the spring.
Thanks for checking on this.
If you are really truly interested in rearing insects, there are several sites on the internet to learn. But please do your research and talk to folks who do this alot. Here a great site of folks who are rearing all kinds of insects and would be glad to share their knowledge with others truly interested.
http://www.buglifecycle.com/?page_id=367
Beautiful Big Green Caterpillar by: Anonymous
I found it trying to crawl in the door threshold of the house. Does it make a cocoon like other smaller caterpillars and will it survive since it is fall in Texas. I still have it in an insect box with grass.
Imperial moth caterpillar by: Moni
Anonymous
They bite leaves only and are not poisonous to humans.
wow by: Anonymous
I found one these things,they are very strange to say the least, we need to know if the bite and are the posionus?
Imperial moth caterpillar by: Moni
Meria
WoW, what a great find! I am jealous! I have seen the adults but not the caterpillar.
Your photo is of the Imperial moth caterpillar.
This caterpillar feeds on leaves of Bald Cypress, basswood, birch, cedar, elm, hickory, Honeylocust, maple, oak, pine, Sassafras, Sweetgum, sycamore, walnut. Since you found it on grass and as it is getting late in the season it is probably heading to find a place in the soil to pupate for the winter.
Adult moths do not feed.
Here are some photos of the larva and moth so you can look for the moth next summer.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/4757/bgimage
