How long must I wait for the butterfly?

Question

About 2 months ago, I noticed a caterpillar attaching itself to the side of our log home. It was very interesting to watch. I looked forward to seeing a butterfly emerge soon.

I've been watching it for two weeks now, and actually worry about it during lightning and thunder storms, only to find out that it is still there, going strong...

Now I'm curious as to how long I'll wait for the buttrefly to emerge. It's been about 10 weeks. Could it have died? It is in direct sunlight and it's very hot some days.

Answer 1

How long a caterpillar stays in its cocoon depends on the species.   Some hatch in a few weeks and some can take months.  If you saw it while it was making its cocoon, try to figure out what type it is and look up the life cycle of the species.  

And don't worry too much about storms and heat.  Caterpillars have been making cocoons and hatching for thousands (millions?) of years.  They know what they're doing.