Is it empty and crispy, or is the future moth still in there? It looks similar to a tersa sphinx moth pupae, so it's probably some type of small sphinx moth - they go under ground to pupate.

Sherry

Thanks, Sherry. It was in the front garden of a neighbor. I had to look up "penta" as I'venot heard of it. We are in Zone 5a New England. She might have a tropical plant (Penta) that she put outside for the summer, although any of the Penta plants shown online don't look familiar to me.

There are deciduous trees and some evergreens. Around that garden area she grows TB iris, dianthus, peonies, bee balm (Monarda), saponaria, creeping phlox, morning glory, clematis, Russian comfrey, hosta, butterfly weed, rose of Sharon, rhododendron and azalea, dahlias.

What are their native host plants. Don't bother, I will look it up. Thanks you very much.

Yes, there is a critter (name) in the pupa. It moves.

Yesterday afternoon, while raking our lawn, I spotted an interesting large hairy catarpillar a second interesting moth catarpillar. Dark brown-black hair, like a fat wooly bear cat, and when it curled up, I could see dark red (like red rubber) bands between each hairy segment. I have seen that type of cat before, but cannot recall its name. It was right on the grass where it could easily have been stepped on or eaten. I'll see if I can find a photo.

ETA: Found it: http://www.pbase.com/image/29783694

Giant Leopard Moth Caterpillar.

ETA#2: Lots of info and photos at link below:

http://www.animalspot.net/giant-leopard-moth.html

What a strikingly beautiful moth!

Yes, I love the giant leopard moths - they are common here. Here are some local pictures - the adult looks a little different from yours -

Sherry

Hi Sherry. That cat photo was from the Internet. I let my cat loose in some leaves. The bands on mine appeared more red than orange.

Oh my gosh the leopard Moths are beautiful!! I've never seen them. I get a lot of different Hawk type moths here but not that one. How can I attract some? I'm in NE FL.

petalique's pupa pics look like Virginia creeper sphinx AKA Darapsa myron AKA hog sphinx to me. I've raised a bunch but it appears I was never smart enough to take pictures of the pupae. This webpage has a pic of a few at the bottom of the page:

https://www.aprairiehaven.com/?page_id=8384

Yay, KC Clark! Yep, that's the pupa ID, I'm confident.

I will try to find out more about the moth as soon as I have time.

For what it's worth, we have tons of Virginia creeper vine around. Lots and lots of it. I assume that plant it related to a preferred food of the caterpillar. Thanks so much.

To Sultry_Jasmine: go to the link in my post about the leopard moth. It states the preferred food plants -- iirc, plantain, violets, among others. That fits our area. We have a lawn filled with Violet's and plantain :-((

I am considering setting up a white sheet with a Light behind it to attract some of these moths for examination.

*** And, does anyone know if a "black light" will attract Luna moths? Last year I read something online that made me think it might.

Aside: we got about a fat inch of snow on Sunday evening, and today, Patriots' Day, the temperature is only ~ 40 to 43 deg F., and raining. Grrrr! It is April 16th! I'd like to plant a few cold weather plants in the veggie garden. Has anyone else heard about a Gulf Stream messy scene related to salt?