# My new "pet" Pillie :)



## schtuffy

I hate, hate, HATE bugs...worms...insects...but I have fallen in love with this little guy!  I am lucky enough to have found the largest caterpillar in North America, a Hickory Horned Devil, right around the corner of my house and to be able to watch him grow :biggrin: His (or her :suspicious name is Pillie, and here are some pictures starting from 2 weeks ago when my husband found him dangling in the tree:

First day or so, when my husband found him he was thoroughly grossed out, and referred to him as 'a flesh-eating monster'


The following day, I think he molted into his final instar, orange phase...so beautiful! 


The 3rd day, he is beginning to take on the green hue characteristic of the final instar!


After eating ravenously for a week, he has doubled in size!


Here is my lens cap for reference


You can see his color changing!


These were all iPhone photos...I took probably 100 on my dSLR but I am too lazy to upload them! I had to google really hard to figure out what he was at first because he was in his brown phase. Despite their fierce appearance, they are completely harmless! He's gotten even bigger than in the last picture, but he climbed up really high yesterday so I couldn't snap a decent shot. My guess is he was about 3 weeks old when we first spotted him...they spend 35 days in larval form before burrowing underground to overwinter...usually by that time they will turn completely turquoise. I'd say he's almost there, and I will be really sad to see him go :frown: 

With the hurricane coming tomorrow, I'm actually a bit worried about him...and I'm seriously resisting the urge to bring him inside. Should I just let nature decide?

Well anyways, thanks for looking!


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## Scarlett_O'

WOW s/he is BEAUTIFUL!!!!

And if it where me I would chop down the tree and bring him inside!LOL 
(But then again maybe DONT listen to me!:tongue


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## xellil

My Lord. That thing is humongous. Not to sound like it creeps me out, but I'm glad it's in your yard and not mine.


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## Lisa_j

How cool is he!!! Thanks for sharing!!!


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## schtuffy

xellil said:


> My Lord. That thing is humongous. Not to sound like it creeps me out, but I'm glad it's in your yard and not mine.


Oh trust me, it creeped _me_ out! I was actually pretty disgusted at first, but over time I just really came to appreciate it! :smile:


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## xellil

Look at what he will turn into:


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## xellil

I think I've actually seen the moth version of him, when we were in Washington DC I think. Over a 6" wingspan, we saw a few moths on a tree that were that big. It was quite impressive.


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## Unosmom

really cool!


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## magicre

you could get an aquarium and chop the branch he's on...bring him in long enough to escape the hurricane and then return him to nature.


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## schtuffy

magicre said:


> you could get an aquarium and chop the branch he's on...bring him in long enough to escape the hurricane and then return him to nature.


Yea I was thinking something along those lines...it would just be for Saturday into Sunday, until the worst gusts and downpours are over. I knew I should have kept all my darn fish tanks after my bettas all died! :doh:

I guess we'll see what the weather is looking like tomorrow morning~


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## DaneMama

That's an amazing new "pet" you have! I'd certainly do exactly what you're doing! I actually am fascinated with bugs...especially really cool ones! In Denver we had a pet spider who lived on our front porch and would spin the most intricate webs. We would even feed her....yep....we are those people lol. 

Keep updating with pictures!!!


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## xellil

schtuffy said:


> Yea I was thinking something along those lines...it would just be for Saturday into Sunday, until the worst gusts and downpours are over. I knew I should have kept all my darn fish tanks after my bettas all died! :doh:


Just don't keep him in your room, and stuff towels under the door. A chair under the doorknob probably wouldn't hurt, either. And make sure you keep your mouth closed when you sleep 

We are spider people also. We had one in the corner of our basement for 7 years - I guess it wasn't the same spider, but it was the same web. When we sold the house, I felt like a murderer because i knew the first thing the next people would do would be to kill the spider. 

And giant garden spiders in Texas - evening entertainment was throwing grasshoppers into their webs!


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## schtuffy

xellil said:


> And giant garden spiders in Texas - evening entertainment was throwing grasshoppers into their webs!


Wow, that sounds cool! (sorry grasshopper :tongue My parents used to have ant problems in their house, so I would always toss some ants to the spiders. They would always eventually stop eating them though, I think I read somewhere that ants are hard for them to digest or something.

So an update on Pillie...my husband actually said he didn't spot him in the tree yesterday, so when I came home the first thing I did was to go check on him. I scoured the tree (sometimes he was hard to spot, but I would usually locate him within a minute or two), and there was no sign of him. I scoured it again before going out to dinner, and again this morning. I hope he just decided he ate enough and was ready to burrow into the ground...but I can't help but worry that some kid plucked him away or a bird got to him :frown: Perhaps he decided to retire early because the hurricane was coming. That's what I'm going to tell myself in my little naive head! I really am sad that he's gone...it's a weird feeling walking past the tree and not seeing him.

I guess if I really think about it, his 35 days were just about up. The last day I saw him he was so high in the tree though, that I couldn't tell if he had reached the point where he turned turquoise. I think if I saw him turquoise, I would have come to terms and said my goodbyes. But one day he was there, and the next he was gone! Ah well...it was truly a great experience. I hope I get to see another one some day...:smile:


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## 3Musketeers

Wow, he's a giant one, never sen a caterpillar bigger than your hand >_<. Only teeny tiny ones.
Maybe just cut the branch, or a few branches and keep him in until the hurricane passes, then put him back outside. Maybe you can put the branch/branches in a vase or something.


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## lozzibear

Oh, he/she is soooooo cool! :biggrin:


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## chowder

That was really a cool bug! I am not really a fan of the caterpillars because usually when I find them they are in the middle of devouring my tomato plants or my azalea's. But he/she was a neat looking one! 

I like them better when they grow up and turn into butterfly's. I have a butterfly garden and they will actually land on my shoulders sometimes. Maybe you'll see your guy in the spring now that you know to look for him!


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## xellil

Well, that's too bad. Surely he is underground now. Maybe he knew the storm was coming, and went to safety. Animals are smarter than us.


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## wags

I like your husbands version~Flesh eating Monster! Now thats funny and ummm sorry but I am with him there! Ewww crazy looking bugger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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