milkweed tussock moth cocoon and butterfly
Location: south western ontario
August 4, 2010 12:30 pm
neighbour found caterpiller meeting milkweed tussock description. by the time it was brought to me allready made very cool fiberous cocoon. emerged after 4 months.
bug-eyed canadian
Hi bug-eyed canadian,
Your cocoon and adult moth are actually a different Tussock Moth. Rather than the Milkweed Tussock Moth, this is the Spotted Tussock Moth, Lophocampa maculata, based on images posted to BugGuide. We are thrilled to be able to add your photos of the Cocoon and Imago to the existing images of the Caterpillars of the Spotted Tussock Moth already posted to our site.
Just found a wooly bear cocoon attached on my door. The caterpillar is alive and moved. It looked like a huge spider so I removed it, then I saw that is was a caterpillar. He is on the bottom if a plastic glass and he is reattaching himself.
Shold I just leave him there? Where should I put the glass? I am in northern CA. mountains.
Thank you.
We favor returning it to the wild.
Just found a wooly bear cocoon attached on my door. The caterpillar is alive and moved. It looked like a huge spider so I removed it, then I saw that is was a caterpillar. He is on the bottom if a plastic glass and he is reattaching himself.
Shold I just leave him there? Where should I put the glass? I am in northern CA. mountains.
Thank you.
My son picked up something that looked just like this and now has those fibers stuck in his hand! We’ve managed to get rid of most of it, but is it possible for the cocoon’s hairs to do this?? We couldn’t figure out why he was yelling “ouchie!” until we saw all those odd fibrous hairs in his hand. Strange!
We are in northern VT and wondering if those exist in our area.
The hairs from many Tussock Moth Caterpillars are urticating, meaning there might be irritation caused by contact. The caterpillars shed the hairs when they pupate, and it is entirely possible that the hairs will maintain their irritating effect after being shed.
My son picked up something that looked just like this and now has those fibers stuck in his hand! We’ve managed to get rid of most of it, but is it possible for the cocoon’s hairs to do this?? We couldn’t figure out why he was yelling “ouchie!” until we saw all those odd fibrous hairs in his hand. Strange!
We are in northern VT and wondering if those exist in our area.
How long do Lophocampa maculata. cocoon before becoming a moth?
My 5 yr old daughter put one of these caterpillars in her “bug catcher” for the night (she was afraid he would be stuck by lightning lol). We looked at him this morning, and it seems he has made his cocoon overnight! In the bug catcher…(metal mesh). What should I do with him? Just leave him be for the next 4 months!?!? Thx