A fearsome looking yet harmless critter.
And an immigrant to our yard. Above we see how it looked when it first arrived. Compare this with the image at the top, where it is starting to turn turquoise, a signal that it is close to pupating.
As part of the National Moth Week festivities, Patty and our friend Bernie hosted a moth night at the Rancocas Nature Center, as they have for the past few years. And as noted in the linked post, the star of the night was a female Regal Moth.
The folks at the Rancocas Nature Center captured the moth, in hopes it would breed and they would have caterpillars to raise. It did, and they gave Patty two of the caterpillars, those shown here.
I built an enclosure for the pair. A five gallon bucket sunk in the ground and filled with dirt a cover of netting. These critters, once finished eating the sweet gum leaves we provided daily, will burrow in to dirt, overwintering as pupae. And emerge in the spring as moths. To start the process over again.
Keep a lookout for a post next spring highlighting the Regal Moth.
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You can find all of the Yard Critter posts listed here.
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