caterpillars

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Okay, I've been a little disgusted ever since I found out that my daughter was raising gypsy moths (when they were smaller, I thought they were tent caterpillars)--and today we counted 19 gypsy moth caterpillars on the lower branches of our little plum tree (now THEY were big enough for me to photograph with my macro-less digital camera!)
Anyway, today she calls out "Mommy--there's something on my swingset, I think it's a caterpillar."  Yes, it was a caterpillar, black and white stripes, with kind of a ladybug colored head & hind end.  So I ran to my handy dandy "Caterpillars of Eastern Forests", and what I appear to have is a Grapevine epimenis.  The book said it eats grapes--I assume that means grape leaves?  We're overloaded with grapevines, so I brought in the caterpillar and some leaves.  Then my daughter wanted to know what it was going to look like, so I went to John Himmelman's wonderful website, Connecticut Moths, and there it was!  If it survives, it'll be the prettiest moth we've raised.  Any suggestions towards meeting its needs?  I see that it's one generation & John found it on the wing in April--is this going to be a long-term project?  How does it overwinter??

Speaking of John, he'll be leading a field trip on Sunday July 10 at Bent-of-the-River in Southbury.  Go to www.ctbutterfly.org for more info now, but expect more reminders from me as the date approaches!

Diane Adams
Chester