It is getting dark now and cool, so I got a blanket out of the metal chest I keep in the hammock gazebo for this very purpose.
I climbed into the hammock and of course Coco jumped up as well. Once I managed to wrestle the blanket out from under him, I tried to open it up but it stubbornly refused to be unfolded! I pulled and pulled and finally was able to pull it apart. It was as though something was gluing it together. I investigated and found a thick glob which I pulled off the part of the blanket it still clung to and this is what I found:
A huge caterpillar had woven its cocoon into the fabric of the blanket!!!
I again tugged very hard to get it to release its hold, photographed it and thew it onto the lawn. Then I tossed the blanket out to cover my legs and feet, but alas, It again would not fully unfold itself. So I investigated and found a second cocoon! Here it is.
Now I am comfortably covered against the air getting ever cooler but alas, the mosquitos have arrived and in spite of Coco’s ever vigilant snapping to capture them, in this Dengue area, I’ve decided it is time to go up to the house.
UPDATE: I found another one!
lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown 
There’s some lil horror story to be made about you trying to cocoon yourself into a blanket that is already a cocoon host. Not sure I could ever wrap meself in that blankie again!
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Well, I’m pretty accustomed to caterpillars. We took five out of the Virginia Creeper yesterday. Well, Pasiano did. I watched.
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What a wonderful way these insects find to protect themselves.
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I know. Can’t imagine how they got into the metal chest.
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Very innovative of them
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Yipes!
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I wonder what would have come out of that caterpillar?
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That is amazing
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Damn mozzies, they’re everywhere.
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You’ve definitely been bugged.
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Looks like I’ve been fumigated, though.
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Cocoons in a blanket – unbelievable!
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I could not figure out how they had gotten glued together. It was incredibly hard to pull them apart.. like they were bonded with superglue.
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Incredible!
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your latest adventure gave me a shiver. If I had found my blanket “glued” together, I would hope I would have had the sense to dash into my home and inspect myself head to toe. But no. You persisted. My God that hammock must have been calling your name softly. Sweetly. I was so relieved that you gave up after finding the second cocoon. It’s nearly Halloween. Please stay away from night time outdoor adventures. Brrrr. (Laughing)
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Ha. Luckily they prove not to be vampire caterpillars.
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Reminds me of realizing my lawn chairs had lichens. Use ’em or lose ’em.
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