Hunting Caterpillars!

That's what I have been doing this morning ... something I haven't done since I was about 6! Here's a pic of my sister and I and some friends in 1979 collecting caterpillars from the ragwort.

The caterpillars I collected today though are vastly different to the tiny little furry black ones we collected as kids! They would have been around an inch long and smaller in diameter than a pencil. The ones I got today are massive! They are green with black markings, thicker than my thumb and between 3-5 inches long!

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Some were heading up the tree (I left them there!)

There were lots on the ground.
A lot of dead ones too.
I gathered up 4 and some leaves and branches and bought them home.
To give you an idea of the size of them!
They can hang upside down quite nicely hehee

And the size of their poops! Oh My! (yes that is a poop, not a pine cone!)
Opps, better get the gladwrap lid back on!
After Samuel and I picked up Maddison from school we went down to the pet shop and got a proper container because I was worried about them not getting enough air. (I did have a great idea of putting an onion bag over the top, but their little feet kept getting caught in it, so that wasn't such a great idea after all!).

One is already trying to escape! :-) Look at his little feet clinging on to the branch.

Can't wait for Aaron to get home and see them :-)

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One of the teachers at Maddison's school told me where to find them - she had got some over the weekend and this morning one spun itself a cocoon! So awesome for the kids to see. She thought that these would be moths.

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Can't wait to see what happens :-)

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Thanks for visiting.