UI Connecticut cocoon

[Martha Rosett Lutz]

Polyphemus cocoons can definitely be found attached to twigs.  In early
spring of 1980 I found one in a low privet hedge on the University of
Chicago campus.  It was relatively easy for me to remove the cocoon from
the twig, but it had been firmly enough attached not to fall to the ground
during autumn and winter weather in the "Windy City."

Just a thought about its size:  was last summer dry in the area where the
cocoon was found?  I was able to produce miniature Saturniids of various
species by feeding them on dehydrated leaves.  They had slow developmental
rates and were tiny adults (and their eggs never hatched).

In Stride,
Martha Rosett Lutz



 
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