Cecropia Moth Cocoon

This past summer there seemed to be more giant silkmoths than usual, including Cecropia Moths (Hylaphora cecropia).  (see https://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/cecropia-moth-2/ ). Assuming many of these moths bred and laid eggs, and that most of the larvae survived, there are probably a large number of Cecropia cocoons in our woods.  Even so, it is not an easy task to find them, as they are so well camouflaged, and are often mistaken for a dead leaf.  Cecropia caterpillars spin silk and fashion it into a three-inch long, tan cocoon (giant silkmoths make the largest cocoons in North America) which they attach lengthwise to a branch or stem.  There is a tough but thin layer of silk on the outside, which protects an inner, thicker and softer layer of silk on the inside.  The caterpillar enters the cocoon through loose valves it makes in both layers, which are located at the tip of the cocoon’s pointed end.  Shortly after the larva crawls inside both of these layers, it pupates.  Its skin splits, revealing a dark brown pupa. For the rest of the winter and most of the spring, it remains a pupa.  In early summer it metamorphoses into an adult moth and exits the cocoon through the same valves  through which it entered.