Cecropia Moth Caterpillar

What an amazing caterpillar, and one I've never seen before! I probably wouldn't have seen it today, either, had it not been for a mom and her little boy kneeling by our maple tree in front of our house. I came down the driveway to go for my walk and saw them there, so of course I had to ask what they were looking at. This caterpillar was the largest one I've ever seen, measuring at least 3 inches long & about an inch in diameter, and so colorful! I looked it up when I got home, and I put a picture--copied from Wiki--in the extras of what the caterpillar will look like next summer. Talk about a huge and beautiful moth!! They're in the silk moth family with wingspans of 5-7 inches, and are the largest moths in North America. After mating, the female will lay up to 100 eggs. There are 5 larval stages, each lasting about 1 week. The first larvae are black. They feed on many common trees and shrubs, including maple, birch and apple. In the second stage they become yellow green. During the third, fourth, and fifth stage it becomes rather large and bluish green. The tubercles become blue, yellow or orange, depending on location on the body. They reach maturity in autumn at about 4 to 4.5 inches long, so based on that I'd say this one has another week or two to finish growing. Once it's in it's 5th stage it will spin a large brown cocoon on a tree or a wooden structure and will emerge as an adult in the first two weeks of seasonally warm weather in early summer. Truly a remarkable caterpillar and an even more impressive moth!!