My Caterpillar has spun a cocoon and is lying motionless inside it. Is he dead???

Don Herbison-Evans ( donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
&
Stella Crossley

(updated 5 September 2001)

No. When a Caterpillar is fully grown, it turns into a pupa or chrysalis, often inside a silk cocoon. This change into a pupa can take several days during which time it looks dead, but actually it working hard inside to begin its change to a moth or butterfly. The pupal stage may then last anything between a week and two years depending on the species and conditions. At the end of that time, if the pupa has not been damaged or attacked, the moth or butterfly emerges.

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