It appeared our accommodation unit (#21) at Mpila (Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park) in December was some kind of magnet to some very large and very hairy caterpillars intent on spinning their cocoons in any available nook or cranny. We didn’t mind, of course, as the whole process is just so darn interesting!
Caterpillars and Cocoons at our Chalet
Caterpillars and Cocoons at our Chalet
Caterpillars and Cocoons at our Chalet
Cocoons at our Chalet
DeWetsWild 
Ek wonder…
Ek sou graag daar wou wees om te sien wat broei uit!
The other day, I found a Hawk’s Moth caterpillar on our patio. Largest caterpillar I’ve ever seen, about 3-4 inches long. They truly have an interesting life cycle.
That’s an enormous caterpillar, John!
Sorry … I would not be happy about sharing my sleeping quarters {shudder}
Luckily they kept to the outside of the building, Joanne. Many of these hairy caterpillars can give you a nasty sting with those hairs.
ouch – didn’t know that. I thought caterpillars were benign. One more reason to avoid them!
That’s why these could walk around so confidently, ’cause nothing was going to try and eat them!
Beslis nie n Monarch butterfly nie Kyk bietjie my pos daaroor. https://scrapydo2.wordpress.com/2016/02/07/sl-week-31-time/
Ek kan onthou dat Tina een tyd haar voorste boom vol van wurms en kokonne gehad het wat soos joune lyk.
Baie interessant, dankie Ineke!
Groot plesier
Grillerig
Dit is so, Tina – mens wil nie jou hand vir hulle uitsteek nie!
No doubt they will become beautiful butterflies or moths. The black and yellow fellow might be a Monarch maybe?
I so wish we knew what they’d transform into, Beth!
As long as they don’t hatch into MOTHRA… you’re safe 😉
😀
I wish we could have been in Mpila long enough to see what emerges from these big cocoons!
Hairy, indeed! Anything for a good blog post, right? 🙂
janet
Wonderful that even the small things can provide interesting memories, Janet. We won’t ever visit Mpila again without thinking about these caterpillars every time we enter our accommodation.
I appreciate all kinds of wild life. Even fuzzy caterpillars. I wish I could have watched how they did that. 🙂
It certainly was most interesting, Pat! Some of them would walk all around the chalet before deciding on “their” spot!
Very interesting! I have never seen that before. How many days did it take from the first picture to the last?
I like the yellow face on the 2nd and 3rd photo. 😉
Have a great day.
It took just about 3 hours from start to finish, Helen!
Thank you!