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Caterpillar Care
Name: Katherine
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: N/A
Question:
I raise monarch caterpillars in the summer. Today I
found a "woolly bear"(Isabella Tiger Moth) in the parking lot all curled
up. I took him home to find out what he does in the winter. He has
warmed up quite a bit and expended energy crawling on my shirt. After
giving him something to hibernate under/in, should I take him onto my
porch, leave him by a cool window, or leave him on my kitchen table or what?
Also, should I give him something to eat after warming him all up and
getting him moving again. I live in Michigan and it has been unseasonably
warm here.I would like to do right by this fuzzy thing, but fear I may
have goofed him all up? I would however like to watch him spin his cacoon
this spring. Please give me some guidance if you would. Thank you for
your time. The fuzzy thing thanks you too.
Replies:
Nuts! I once kept a wooly bear until it turned into a moth, but I don't
remember what I fed it, how I kept it, or any of that stuff. It'll
probably be all right if you put it in a box with some insulating material
(grass, leaves, etc) and keep it in a protected place, like a garage. Or
you can just let it go in your back yard, see where it tries to go, and try
to give it an environment like that.
Richard Barrans Jr., Ph.D.
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Update: June 2012
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