des res for caterpillar

While gardening this afternoon, I came across two large and torpid caterpillars on the lip of the compost bin. As they look like something the cat left on the lawn, only with false eyes at one end, I rather assume they're hawk moth caterpillars of some kind.

I assume they're just about to turn into chrysallises, if not part of the way already. (One of them has anchored itself quite firmly to the bin.

Now, I'd leave them there to spend the winter (it's obviously a warm cosy spot with the heat from the rotting compose) but it simply isn't safe for them. I'm regularly adding more weeds and hedge clippings and putting the lid back on risks squashing them (I'm amazed I didn't kill them in the process of removing the lid in the first place).

What should I do with them? What is the ideal overwintering place for a caterpillar?

Life without Henry

I'm settling into new patterns now and starting to adapt.
( Read more... )