CLOSED: What are these?

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toy747 South Florida, FL(Zone 10b) Jan 19, 2008

I was weeding and came across these. They were close to the foundation of my house. They are between 1 3/4 - 2 inches long.

This message was edited Jan 19, 2008 4:08 PM

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fly_girl The Woodlands, TX(Zone 8b) Jan 19, 2008

They look like one of the Sphinx Moth cocoons, I don't know which one exactly:

http://www.silkmoths.bizland.com/hthysbe.htm

If you have a critter keeper or reptarium, you can watch them eclose someday soon.

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HoosierGreen Danville, IN Jan 22, 2008

I'm sure they are the pupa (naked, without making a cocoon) of some type of moth, probably a small species of sphinx. The moth larvae (caterpillars) form them after burrowing into the ground. Most moths "spin" a cocoon of silk around the pupa, (the pupa is roughly equivalent to the chrysalis of a butterfly). If you would cut open the cocoon of any moth, you would find a similar pupa inside (of course you'd probably then killed the insect though). If you pick one of these pupa up, it will energetically wiggle the segmented end. Grossly entertaining, especially to any kids who might be around. Eventually, it will morph into the adult moth and split open when it is ready to emerge. If you look closely, you will be able to make out the head with mouth parts and antennae wrapped around, the legs folded in the middle part, and the segmented abdomen. Pretty cool, huh?

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