Thank you for the reply! Is there a way to distinguish between a winter cocoon and a summer one? Because if my cats didn't make a winter cocoon it will be dangerous to keep them at 2-5 C. I intend to first put them in a cooler room of my apartment which is not heated and than to store them in a glazed balcony, where the temperatures are really lower (so they have time to adapt) I will make sure the cocoons stay at 35-40 F. (2-5 C) and not expose them to direct sunlight. I will put all the cocoons on the bottom of a big plastic box /airtight/, covered with paper towel. If they become too dry I'll mist it slightly. Hope these conditions are OK. Should I do something else? Since I am a beginner, your experience and advice is really useful for me. Should I know something else about overwintering? Here is what I found on the net: http://www3.islandtelecom.com/~oehlkew/zpupae.htm Thank you very much! Here is a link that might be useful: Overwintering Cocoons and Pupae

Sherry, the Polyphemus spins a white cocoon. Unlike the Luna, the Poly cocoon is quite dense. They spin a LOT of silk! Their cocoons look like tiny surgical casts. In fact, it is because of this, that the Poly's first cousin, native to China, Antheraea pernyi, was and may still be used for silk, just as the Bombyx is. The Cynthia moth is also used for silk. At one time, Cynthias were common in NE US, but have largely died off, chiefly due to habitat loss as well as parasitoids such as the tachinid fly. Susanlynne, one sureshot way to tell male from female Luna, at a glance, is color. The females are that characteristic green, while males are yellow-green. I could tell from my upstairs bedroom window, the Luna I saw, resting on a young hickory, was most definitely a male. No way could I see its body size or antennae. I hope this helps.

Here's the UMass information regarding the development of a natural predator for Winter Moth. "Cyzenis albicans is a Tachinid fly that parasitizes winter moth; in fact, winter moth is the only insect that it attacks. This important parasitoid was introduced into Nova Scotia through the 1950âÂÂs for winter moth and is now the controlling factor for this serious pest. It was also released in the western United States for winter moth there and showed great success. Cyzenis has now been brought to Massachusetts and a small initial release was performed in May of 2005 in Plymouth County. Following the 2005 release, Cyzenis albicans was released in increasing numbers each year in the following Massachusetts towns: Wenham, MA (2006); Falmouth, MA (2007), Wellesley, Seekonk and Barnstable in 2008 and again in Wellesley in 2009. Several years of releases will be necessary before any measurable effects are seen. The number of release sites is limited each year to carefully selected locations and at least 1000 flies are released at each site to maximize the chance of successful establishment. Production of flies for release has been augmented by the development of mass rearing techniques in the laboratory for both the fly and its winter moth host. We have also increased our Cyzenis collection efforts in British Columbia. This work is being performed by Dr. Joseph ElkintonâÂÂs lab group at UMass, Amherst. It is made possible thanks to funding from the USDA Forest Service, USDA, APHIS, the Mass. Dept of Conservation and Recreation and the Massachusetts State Legislature." Steve Here is a link that might be useful: Winter Moth overview - UMass

Buyorsell888, that sounds like the same caterpillar. Another very striking caterpillar occurs on the ragwort weeds in my yard. I don't remove all the ragwort because of them. They have bright orange and black stripes, see photo below, and apparently get a poison from eating the plant then have bright red on the black wings to act as a warning for the moth, the Cinnabar moth. Apparently they have been imported to some places to control ragwort. I never seen the moth but would like to. I found a dead Garden Tiger moth in my garage but haven't seen a live one of them either. I guess I need to hang out at night under lights outdoors. Here is a link that might be useful: photo