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Butterfly Garden

Giant Leopard Moth Cat, found

16 years ago

Hello all,

First, thank you for all being here to help. I found the coolest, largest caterpillar I've ever seen today. I looked it up online and discovered it to be a Giant Leopard Moth caterpillar, I've never seen either this cat or the moth itself here, about 30 miles north of Boston.

Can I keep this guy/gal overwinter and let a beautiful moth go in the spring?

I've never done this before and I'm not to familiar w/the species, but I understand they will eat anything (so that's good). I have a bazillion questions and would love to NOT screw this up and be able to see this transformation if possible.

So, here goes:

1. Should I even do this, or should I just put it out and let nature do her thing?

2. If I can do this what do I put the cat in? Small plastic container? 5 gallon aquarium? Fish bowl? I suppose they don't need much room.

3. Objects for the container? Sticks, dirt, leaves, water? Things to climb on and attach a nice chrysalis to?

4. Where to put the container? We have an unheated garage/cellar but it's completely dark in there, would it need light? It doesn't get to freezing, probably in the 40's or 50's maybe? I keep a Japanese Maple in there over winter that is in a pot.

5. I also have an unheated pantry area, that gets light, keeps beer nice and cold during the winter out there, so it's chilly for sure.

Any help is appreciated, this moth looks so beautiful, I'd love to be able to let it go in the spring. I'm excited about it.

Thank you!!!!!

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Comments (7)

goldenpond
16 years ago
please show us a photo as I have found Giant Leopard moths in my yard but would not know what the cat looks like . I always wonder what around my house it is attracted to,food and other wise.What will you feed it?
{{gwi:539657}}
bruinsfan
Original Author
16 years ago
Unfortunately I don't have a macro lens for my digicam (next on the list of things I "need" to buy, right? lol). If you google "giant leopard moth caterpillar" you'll get plenty of photos in the images section.

Not sure what to feed it, don't know too much about it, that's why I'm here :-)
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Hi Shannon! My daughter and I raised our first black wooly bear this summer. We researched online to find out what they eat and they seem to eat a variety of plants. We fed ours maple leaves and dandelion. He hung out in our cage for about a week before he formed his cocoon. I couldn't tell he had eaten very much, and his cocoon didn't look like it formed properly. I thought he was dead, but I kept checking on him. About 3 or 4 weeks later, I went out one morning and there was this beautiful Giant Leopard Moth in the cage. We were thrilled! He was white with metallic blue/gray spots. Gorgeous! We opened the cage but he didn't fly away. After two days I moved him to the outside of the cage, and by that afternoon he had flown. By all means, try raising one, but be careful not to touch the cat with your bare hands. Many hairy caterpillars have a toxin that transmits into your skin when you touch the hairs. The hairs scratch your skin and this transmits the toxin.
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Butterflyer1966
16 years ago
Hi there,
here is a link that should help with the hostplants etc..
I myself have one right now in a crittercage..
It is black and has a few red band around the thorax..It has bristles all over but does not sting..
I will post a pic later today..
Greetings
Susanne(SUE)

http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek020608.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Giant Leopard Moth
tracey_nj6
16 years ago
Wow; what a beautiful moth. I had never known that moths could be so beautiful, that is until I started frequenting this forum.
bruinsfan
Original Author
16 years ago
Hello Butterflyer, thank you for that link, that's actually the website that helped me initially ID the fuzzy dude.

The wikipedia is great too, I'm just not sure what to do w/it. I'm going to go to Wallyworld today and get a critter cage setup.
todancewithwolves
16 years ago
Larvae generally feed on cabbage, cherry, dandelion, maple, orange, sunflower, violet, or willow.

Good luck!

Edna
bruinsfan
Original Author
16 years ago
So, I'm still not sure what I should do for a habitat. Right now he/she is in a mason jar w/a little dirt, some sticks and a few leaves (I put in a couple daisy, violet and echinacea leaves, he/she seems to like the cone flower I put more in this morning & also a morning glory leaf).

I bought a large-ish plastic critter cage for $13 at Petco (figured I'd get large for future use) and when I get home I'm going to set it up w/a nice layer of dirt/sand - I have a good mix in my yard - a lot of sticks, branches, etc., and a sampling of leafy goodies from the yard.

Do I leave this container outside until it builds a cocoon and then bring it in and keep it in a chilly garage or pantry? Do I leave it outside all winter, maybe in a protected, covered area? You know, it would actually fit inside my VERY large grill that gets left out, but covered up and in a semi-protected place.

Do I put the leaf stems in water, or some sort of plant gel (don't want it to drown, although the cat is HUGE so I don't think that would happen)?

What do I do in the spring? Just keep an eye on it?

Thanks again,

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