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Strap in, I did not expect to meet this gentleman tonight! A little thread. https://twitter.com/franzanth/status/1358990494324322304
Last August I rescued a fat caterpillar on a busy sidewalk. Online friends said it was a Polyphemus but probably injured or infected. Give it some oak leaves, it might emerge in a couple of weeks. So I put some oak leaves in a box with it, and sure enough, cocoon.
And as predicted, after two weeks, nothing.
A month after that (I remained hopeful) I folded up the collapsible box and put it on my desk. I figured I’d dissect the failed pupa later.
Months passed.
A week ago, while cleaning up my desk, I finally said, fine, either toss this thing or dissect it. So I cut open the cocoon to find a clean, stubby pupa. But when I touched it...it twitched!
Out came the box again! I put the pupa back in its cocoon and back amongst its leaves, and put the box on a shelf in the living room. And forgot about it.
Tonight, I happened to look over my shoulder and OUR BOY HAD EMERGED AND I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE IT 
He’s perfect as far as I can tell. An absolute unit.
Just look at him. Antharaea polyphemus, one of our planet’s largest moths.
He won’t last long. Adults mate and die within weeks. It’s the middle of winter here in Chicago, inches of snow on the ground. He won’t find a mate unless a parallel miracle has unfolded across town. But perhaps we can immortalize him here. /end
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