Insect and Spider Identification: CLOSED: Black fuzzy caterpillar "giving birth", 1 by fritchie21

fritchie21 wrote:
OK, so I know caterpillars don't actually give birth, since they are larvae. But today I watched the fuzzy black caterpillar I've been raising (a return to my childhood days) "give birth" to two tiny, pale-colored grub-like organisms that promptly spun themselves into little cocoons. Are the grub-like organisms some sort of internal parasite that the caterpillar just excreted? And what is the caterpillar? FYI, I live in southern California, and the caterpillar has been happily feasting on lettuce from my garden. I have no idea what other plants it might like, as I found it on my concrete patio far from any of my potted plants.

The first pic is the caterpillar, and the second pic are the two tiny cocoons (less than 1/4 inch long) of whatever came out of the caterpillar.