One day after I discovered the ”Carpet Caterpillar,” I discovered the remains of its cocoon in my living room carpet. This also explains why the caterpillar was so lethargic when I found it: a great amount of energy is expended in preparing to pupate.
Actually, there were the remains of two cocoons. Since I did not find another caterpillar, I suspect that I disrupted the one animal on two occasions. I was using boxes that had been in that spot for ages, and the caterpillar, once exposed, probably sought refuge under another box that I also eventually used.
You can even see the “trail” between the two pupal cells, a tiny trough in the carpet. Whether this represents actual damage to the fibers I have yet to find out (hey, I’m blogging, not vacuuming).
That's cool, Eric. And here I thought carpet moths were just something people made up to explain the holes they found in their textiles.
ReplyDeletei found one of these under a paper shopping bag i had sitting in my room. at first i was completely freaked out, and then i saw that there was a caterpillar in there and it was kind of neat. but for real, how do i go about removing the caterpillar and cocoon? i don't deal well with bugs..
ReplyDeleteChristina: I'm not sure. I haven't tried removing the old cocoon in my own living room. I would think it would more-or-less just peel right off the carpet. If not, you could try vacuuming whatever remains and/or take a stuff brush to it.
ReplyDeleteamazing!
ReplyDelete