How to Feed a Caterpillar

Recently, a caterpillar was found in our house. It was no where near a window, or any plant for that matter. We don't even have any outdoor animals. The caterpillar is roughly about a centimeter in length, and when stretched, is no wider than a spaghetti noodle. Yes, he's tiny, and yes he is a caterpillar.

While we haven't been able to identify just what species he is exactly, we took it upon ourselves to care for this little guy. His origins and species is a mystery, and thus we have dubbed him appropriately: Timmy Enigma. (I don't know if that name exists anywhere, and if so, this is where I would put my disclaimer...)

When I was in the third grade, we studied insects. For awhile there, I actually had dreams of being an entomologist. Short lived dreams, of course. The older I became the less tolerance I had for our fellow creepy crawlers, though I still don't squeal when I see a spider - often. But, hey. I'm still partial to living things, and little Timmy was kind of cute.

We fashioned a home for him in a simple jar that was thoroughly cleaned. In the tin lid, we punched holes enough to allow the critter to breathe without escaping. So now we were faced with the first question in keeping any kind of beast: What does it eat?

If there's one thing I learned in the third grade it was that caterpillars need to eat leaves and a lot of them. If you know the species of your caterpillar, you can google it and find out what kind of plant it needs to live on. If you can't identify it, you need to use a bit of good old Sherlockian deductive reasoning...

1 - If you find the critter on a plant, its a good bet that that's what it eats. You will probably find some leaves chewed through with those trademark little holes.

2 - If you don't find it on a plant, take a look around at plants surrounding it.

3 - If you don't find it near any plants at all, then you may be in a bit of a pickle. Like we were when we found Timmy. So, in such a case you should use both your best judgment as well as trial and error. Our house is beneath a large oak tree, so we snatched some leaves from that as well as a few other ones. We put one of each in Timmy's jar and waited. It didn't take long for him to start munching on certain leaves, and quickly he seemed to gain strength. And size.

His "home" has been placed on a flat surface where he can eat to his little heart's content without being disturbed. The last thing you should do is place your caterpillar in direct sunlight where he can roast like popcorn.

As for water, you don't need to provide him with a little dish or anything. Caterpillars usually sustain enough water from the moisture in the fresh leaves that you give them. (They should have fresh leaves everyday, mind you.)

Now that you have the means to feed your caterpillar, then comes the fun part... Waiting! Timmy Enigma is growing bigger and bigger everyday, and if we're lucky enough, we will be able to see him turn into a lovely butterfly. Or moth even. The mystery is half the fun!