It's not a butterfly — it's a moth! Learn how to identify the promethea silk moth, a beautifully patterned backyard visitor.

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.

Stigmella torminalis, a pygmy moth with a wingspan of less than 0.5 centimeters and tufts of black or orange hair ... larvae or the pale orange-brown cocoons. “Larvae were found in late June ...

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.

The white-handed gibbon has evolved into two shades, blond and black, and interestingly ... When the Atlas moth emerges from its cocoon, it's an awesome sight, with beautiful ruby colored wings ...

Characteristic cocoon with final instar larva and pupa of the alpine rose leaf-miner moth on Rhododendron ferrugineum in Ardez, Graubünden, Switzerland. Alpine rose leaf-miner moth adults resting ...