What is this thing? I found it when I was sifting dirt I dug out of a hole for planting.

It's the chrysalis of a moth. They usually bury themselves in the soil to keep the correct levels of moisture, if it dries out it's unlikely to be able to hatch. Can you relocate it to a similar place from where it came? It looks quite big so could be a very interesting moth, in fact it could be a Hawk-moth.

http://www.spacefornature.co.u...

JRsbugs said:It's the chrysalis of a moth. They usually bury themselves in the soil to keep the correct levels of moisture, if it dries out it's unlikely to be able to hatch. Can you relocate it to a similar place from where it came? It looks quite big so could be a very interesting moth, in fact it could be a Hawk-moth.

http://www.spacefornature.co.u...

Yes, we did relocate it. My wife identified it as a chrysalis and asked me to bury it again, which I did and marked it. I looked up some information about them. There are different kinds, this is probably the hummingbird moth of North America, slightly different from the hawk-moth, but they like warmer climates and from the USDA map, they aren't really supposed to be in the Puget Sound area. One website even considers them a pest. I'll take the chance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H...
http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowe...
http://www.pestnet.com/moth/hu...

Humming-bird Hawk-moth, Macroglossum stellatarum is the one we get here, it's an immigrant from mainland Europe. I haven't seen one since 2011 but they do come here in the summer even though we don't have a warm climate.

http://butterfly-conservation....

Keep your eyes open for the moth, and try to take photos but that's not an easy task!

Nice find!

I found a similar one once, it actually would wiggle a little, so I put it back in the dirt.
It had a smooth shell, not rough like the hummingbird/hawk moth one.

-Ben