Silkmoths and more: Automeris belti

It's always a bit disappointing when after receiving eggs it turns out that they died during transport. Even more when it's not the first time. I have never had much luck with Automeris belti eggs. This is the third time that someone send me eggs of wild females and for the third time the hatch rate was just awful. In this case: only one caterpillar. Only one, that wasn't very promising. Solitary Automeris caterpillars perish quickly, usually already in the first instar. They need company to eat and grow well. So I didn't expect much of this one, but to my surprise it stayed alive. The growth was slow though and at a certain point I ran out of Robinia, which is the recommended food plant for this species. So, I switched them to Rosa and then to Rubus. Two months later the caterpillar finally started to spin a cocoon. Given the slow growth rate, I expect a long pupal stage. This one will probably hibernate until spring.