At this stage, the caterpillar would begin the next cycle on an outdoor plant. It would be prey to birds and insects and would be subject to the weather. Many do not make it to the next cycle. Some don’t even make it under our protection, but so far this season, we have made a heroic effort.

We constructed a “tree”: We put twigs in a flower pot and place the caterpillar that is ready to begin its transformation here. They wander around the pot and the twigs, sometimes for hours until they find their final resting place as a pupa.

They are almost 2″ in length at this point and the colorful segments of their bodies eventually compress into about half their size. Once they are on a branch of the “tree,” they spin a silk belt and hang like a window-washer. They tuck their heads forward and are in “J” formation.

In about a day they will take on the color and texture of their surroundings until they are perfectly camouflaged! They liquify themselves and reconstruct during this period of transformation.

Some caterpillars are very independent and form their J (no matter how many times you might move them to a branch) on the outside of the flower pot or on the interior wall.

This photo illustrates how a pupa formed on the inside of the pot, how a pupa is forming at the beginning of its journey, in “J” formation, and how the older pupae have formed on the twigs and actually look like part of the branches.