My Resident Cocoon Pt 4

This cocoon has been in my garden since April. I've watched him move up and down my rose bush, rescued him from the green waste bin when I pruned the rose bush, and occasionally watched him as he emerged to feed.

Last Friday I spotted him at the base of the rose bush having a great adventure, looking very active and healthy. Check out my video above.

On Saturday he had climbed back into the rose bush, then the wind arrived, and on Sunday I found him upside down in the garden below. Not sure if the wind had blown him down or if he climbed down himself, I decided to let Mother Nature look after her own and leave him alone.

Yesterday, (Monday), I went to check on him and he was still on the ground at the base of the rose bush, but he had moved. The opening of his little hose was now facing up, where the day before it was facing down. When I checked for him in the  afternoon, he was gone, nowhere to be seen. I've checked again this morning and still cannot find him.

His little house his made of twigs and is very hard to spot sometimes. I just hope he is safe and just found a new branch to sleep on.

An Orchid

The first of my orchids is out.  I am pleased with this as it has been very dry here in Sydney.

A Resident Cocoon Pt 3

Way back in early April I found this cocoon in my garden. Over the last few months I've watched him move about the rose bush, go missing for a day or two at a time, only to re-appear again somewhere else on the rose bush.

Last weekend I decided it was time to prune my roses, and while pruning this particular one, forgot that I had a resident cocoon living in it. I was about half way through the process when I remembered, and his branch was already in the green waste bin. So I dug through the bin, found the branch with the cocoon on it, and propped it back up against what was left of the rosebush.

He stayed there for two days, then promptly disappeared again. The branch by this stage was starting to wilt.

I looked for him everywhere, on the ground, in other close by shrubs, and finally found him back on the rose bush on a pruned living branch.

I have found cocoons like this before in my garden, but have never followed their progress. It has been very interesting to find out that they move while in this transforming state. I also found it interesting that he has moved from a dying branch to a living branch. He must be getting some form of nutrient from it.

Because the rose bush has been pruned, my resident cocoon is now very exposed, and I worry that the birds or some other predator may find him. At the moment he is still there, and I will continue to watch, hopefully to see him emerge with wings.