moth

Description:

Polyphemus cocoon

Notes:

I first saw a large, green caterpillar just under the grill of my air conditioner on the morning of Nov. 23 but missed an opportunity to photograph it. It was spinning short silk strands that attached it to the grill and interior edge of the air conditioner. By that night, this cocoon was finished. I'm pretty sure it is a polyphemus. There are oak trees in my yard and I found an empty cocoon on the ground nearby about a month ago. According to a short paper by a Louisiana moth and butterfly expert on a Louisiana State Museum web site, lsuinsects.org, these moths actually have five broods a year here, the last one in about mid-September and the first one in March. Other articles say two broods, with the first in May, but I'm hoping this one emerges in March before I have any need to use the a/c. I hope it has space to crawl out from beneath the grill.