In polymer chemistry, polymerization is a process of reacting monomer molecules together in a chemical reaction to form polymer chains or three-dimensional networks. There are many forms of polymerization and different systems exist to categorize them.
The thistle caterpillar is the larval stage of the painted lady butterfly. The adult insect migrates into Iowa each year from Texas and Mexico. Eggs are laid on both thistle and soybeans. The caterpillar is easily identified by the spines that resemble Christmas trees that have lost all their needles.
Posted 19 August 2008 - 08:55 PM. Hi, I think it really depend on what kind of caterpillar it is. We caught a caterpillar this summer and it took about 3 -4 weeks to come out of its cocoon. I'm not sure what kind of caterpillar it was or what kind of moth. It looked like the run of the mill moth that comes up to our porch light. We have a cecropia caterpillar also.