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Photo#45794
Pupa

Pupa
Licking County, Ohio, USA
March 23, 2005
Size: 22mm
I found this hidden inside a VERY strong, flat, oval-shaped retreat under some tree bark. Hopefully I can give more clues after eclosion.

Can anyone explain the barbs at the posterior tip?

I found a cocoon like this
Hello, I found a cocoon just like this and I was wondering how I should take care of it.

Moved
Moved from Noctuoidea.

Moved

I found one just like this
I found a pupa that looks just like this. The only difference in mine is that it doesnt have those barbs at the bottom. Instead, it has a sort of spike that looks kind of like the stinger of a bee. It also doesnt have those little holes on the side that the picture emphasizes. But it is exactly the same color as the one that I had found. I will try to add a picture of the pupa that I had found.

Moved
Dr. Tom D. Schultz (Department of Biology, Denison University) sent me the following information last fall about this photo, and I somehow neglected to add it at that time:

"If it is as large as I think it is, I think the candidates would be Arctiidae or Sphingidae. If it is the former, there should have been in a hairy cocoon made from larval hairs, and under tree bark would be possible. If it is a sphingid, it should have been in a cell dug in the soil. In any case, the anal hooks are called the cremaster and are used to hold the pupa in place in the cocoon or cell."

So, based on that, I'm moving this to Arctiidae.

Moved from Sphinx Moths.

 
Noctuid?
Since the determination seems to have been made solely based on context, and not appearance, and since Dr. Schultz is not a lepidopterist, I figured I'd add my thoughts for consideration: The hairy cocoons made by arctiids are typically very flimsy, sometimes made entirely out of hairs without any silk added. Your description ("VERY strong") does not match this; it reminds me more of a noctuid pupal cell such as this one:


I believe 22 mm is reasonable for a noctuid. I suspect that a lepidopterist could identify this pupa to family based solely on your image, but that's beyond me.

Moved from Frass
OKAY!! :-)

I figured since it couldn't be matched to an adult, why bother? But I see that most of these look nearly identical except for the size. I'll try to not let the next one get away from me!

Thanks all for the comments. They are very much appreciated.

Barbs
hold it to tree when hanging in pupa thing..

 
No, the barbs don't hold it to a tree or anything else.
Sphingid pupae don't hang in trees - they pupate on or under the ground.

this thing is cool
it should be unfrassed... The adult coud be found, and it's such a cool pic!

Frassed
Moved from Sphinx or Hawk Moths.

Adult specimen got away from me during photography. Can't be identified.

 
That's too bad
but this still has value as a sphingid pupa image at the family level, I think. Such good clear details!

 
I agree with Hannah
What is the rush on frassing it anyway? This could be done at a later time, right now it still looks like a good addition.

 
This
is a great photo. I dont think any others have your angles. Excellent photo. Should be moved back to the guide, in my opinion

Barbs
are to hold itself in place while it wriggles out of its last larval skin, I think.

It looks like a sphinx moth p
It looks like a sphinx moth pupa

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