We hatched a huge Polyphemus moth from a caterpillar!
August 2007 I found a green caterpillar the size of my pinky on the front lawn, and put it in a jar to show the boy. The next morning it had spun itself into a cacoon as big as a golf ball. After watching it for months we put it on the shelf in the laundry room and just about forgot about it.
But middle of January she decided to come out. She's a monster! All the books list the polyphemus as spanning 4.5 to 5.5 inches, but as you can see in the ruler photo, ours is over 6 inches. After one night in a fish tank, I took her out Saturday morning and let her cling to the trunk of our potted tamarind tree in the dining room. Though plump and healthy looking, she didn't move all day. She didn't flinch when I put the camera inches from her nose, and even allowed me to adjust her wing position. The adult polyphemus does not eat or drink, and lives only a few days. I didn't expect her to live through the night.
This morning the tree was bare. We looked for her all around the house and interrogated the cat before spotting her clinging to a low corner in the kitchen. She had deposited a few eggs on the drywall. And on the coffee maker, and on the tamarind tree and who knows where else. She'd apparently had a wild night. We left her alone for a couple hours hoping to witness more shenanigans. When she declined I placed her back on the tamarind where she's been inert all day, a cooperative photo subject.
(January 14, 2008): Well, she had another active night. This time we found her above the kitchen sink, where she laid a few dozen eggs on the window sill. Added four pictures of eggs.
(Update January 26). Polly is still alive and laying eggs! It's been 15 days now, since she first emerged from her cacoon. She has far surpassed our expectations. We had started giving her up for dead almost two weeks ago. The last week she has been more active during the day, attracting the attention of the cat, so we've had to confine her to a fishbowl. I got her out the other evening and she posed nicely for closeups on the kitchen table, so I'm adding those photos.
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