Posted 4-3-00

Caterpillars make their cocoons from strands of silk that they produce from glands near their mouths.

They use their mouthparts to weave the silk, which is sticky at first, into a cocoon. Some caterpillars make very loose, open cocoons, while others build very strong, tightly-woven cocoons.

-- Kevin Thorpe, entomologist, USDA-ARS Insect Biocontrol Lab, Beltsville, Md.

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