Is this Cecropia or Calleta caterpillar? On a 6 foot dense grey green cenizo (Texas purple sage) near my house, I counted 12 of these caterpillars at different stages of development. And those are just the ones that were very obvious, no doubt others were hidden. This year has been unusually wet and cool, in the 70's, for this part of Texas. Usually the temperatures are well into the 80's and above. If the caterpillars have been here before, they have eluded me, but I have seen the adults moths of both species on rare occasions.

I observed one caterpillar constructing its cocoon. It began about 9 A.M. and was still at it around 11 P.M. when I gave up. The cocoon is hanging from a twig in the dense part of the bush at about 5.5 feet.

Thanks!