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.
No comments:
Post a Comment