Learn how to identify a luna moth. Caterpillars go through several instars before creating a cocoon. These instars range from white-and-black striping to green with blue spots on the back.

The caterpillar, along with most others in the Saturniidae family, spins a silk cocoon. This is where it then spends its time as a pupa, the stage of development before the moth becomes an adult.

At this stage, these caterpillars have a distinct red and black pattern around their ... and then form a tough cocoon, in which they will stay as a pupa all winter before emerging as a moth in the ...

Adult atlas moths may be massive, but they do not feed at all after they have emerged from the cocoon. The proboscis, which other butterflies and moths use to drink nectar, is tiny and does not work.