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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:
I can't tell you much specific about wooly bears, but I would suggest leaving it in a cool place where it hopefully will pupate. Definitely give it something to eat, most tiger moth larvae eat grasses, though the group includes the fall webworm that eats tree leaves (those do not look like classic wooly bears). If you have not seen it you might like this web site:
http://butterflywebsite.com/

J. Elliott


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