Ask A Scientist© Zoology Archive

name       Susan
status     other
age        30s

Question - I found a caterpillar about a year ago. It immediately
spun a cocoon.
It spent the summer, fall and winter outside. This May I took it inside
and have been watching it. I identified it as an American
Dagger Moth caterpillar. My question is this: When will it emerge?
Is it possible that it is still alive?

I am not familiar with that species or its life cycle, but it seems unlikely
that a cocoon spun in spring or early summer would emerge as long as a year
later - most moths that form cocoons early in the year will mature to adults
before winter; those that form cocoons late in the growing season overwinter
in that stage.
J. Elliott
=========================================================