You may be very confused and/or intrigued by that title. Well, people, so am I.

So, here’s the story. I came home the other day and was looking around for something in the living room when I spotted this, like, big brown spot on the doorframe across the room. And then, upon further inspection, I discovered that that spot was actually… a willy worm.

Or wooly worm or wooly bear or fuzzy hairy bug thing, whatever you call it, but with the great backwoods accent that I’ve been blessed with, I call it a willy worm. I know that term is totally wrong (after someone pointed it out to me two days ago…), but you can’t teach an old dog new tricks… even if that old dog is actually a fairly young dog that is learning so many other things on a daily basis already.

Anyway, back to the story, people. So, I was like, “oh my gosh, what a cutie this here willy worm is,” and I petted it and everything because everyone loves those fuzzy little buggy backs… and then I was like, well, it’s in the house probably because it’s below 20 degrees Fahrenheit outside and it probably awoke from hibernation yesterday when it was suddenly 60 and sunny and now it’s seeking a warmer climate so it doesn’t have to go back into hibernation until June.

So, then, I decided to help the little guy, which I named… Willy… and I made a little temporary home for him in a mason jar with dirt and leaves and the whole bit. And so, I put him in the jar, and he was being all cute and slithering around and making a bed out of leave chucks and spinning silk of some kind all over the place… and, you know, he was just so cute making this jar feel all cozy for an overnight stay.

Oh, but then, the next day, I woke up and looked in his jar… only to find he had completely cocooned himself against the glass.

And, now, he looks like this (real found footage from mason jar #7 under the kitchen light!):

Now, I have personally looked further into the matter and, apparently, it seems willy worms cocoon themselves before transforming into some type of moth. Who knew? Not me, clearly.

Now, I was going to dump Willy back outside after the weather allowed spring to actually kind of appear present… I mean, I’m pretty sure he’d have been okay if I just threw him back out in the cold, but of course, then he’d be, like, cold and uncomfortable just waiting for spring. But, now, um… he’s cocooned to my mason jar and I can’t just dump him out.

So, now, I guess, I’m gonna be along for the long ride of Willy’s metamorphosis!

It should be about a week or two before he breaks out of his little nest and emerges as his true, eccentric self. Maybe then I’ll post an update for y’all and let you know when he’s ready to go out in the world and is available for a mate!

Until then, though, homedogs…

-iKari 🐛