We 'adopt' a catepillar each year and this year I believe we have a Buff Ermine Moth. It seemed healthy and created a woven cocoon. It was at this point that I found out these moths overwinter. We put it outside when we started to use the heating again to avoid it drying out. Within 24hrs of being outside, two hard areas appeared outside the cocoon, actually poking through the dried leaf to which it is attached. The following day one of these hard objects fell off! This is completely different to the other catepillars we have observed and I wondered what is going on. Is the catepillar still OK?? Photos attached. Thanks for your help!
Just to note, the woven cocoon is actually between those two leaves. It's not that clear on the pictures. The cocoon itself seems unaltered.
