Summarize:

In the wild, giant leopard moth caterpillars hibernate all winter as part of their life cycle. Caterpillars can hibernate outside in their containers all winter, or you can put it into the refrigerator. Don’t freeze your caterpillar. Your caterpillar will not eat while it’s hibernating, but it may be lightly active on warmer days. When it’s mildly active, it might eat available food. When your caterpillar wakes up in the spring, it’ll be ready to fatten up in preparation for its metamorphosis into a moth, which will take place later in the spring. Make sure that you provide your caterpillar enough food for it to get ready to turn into a pupa, which is its cocoon-phase. Your caterpillar’s fuzzy skin will slide off once it has fattened up, leaving a smooth black oval called a pupa. This is it’s cocoon phase. You can expect it to shed its exoskeleton during spring. Since you can’t pinpoint the actual date of your moth’s emergence, keep track of its progress each day. While your pupa does not need food, you may want to mist the caterpillar’s home daily to keep it humid. Simply spray a light spritz of water into the container. While their actual time in the pupa can vary, giant leopard moth caterpillars only take a few weeks to metamorphose into a moth. You can choose to keep your moth or set it free.
Allow your caterpillar to hibernate. Add more food to your caterpillar’s diet. Wait for your caterpillar to shed its exoskeleton. Check the pupa daily. Watch your giant leopard moth emerge.