Monday 18 May 2020

14th-17th May - Stuff with wings and crawly things

Recent walks around local lanes have provided me with sightings of some day flying moths and butterflies galore. Also encountered were the caterpillars of two moth species.
Life cycle of a moth (from Lewington's Butterfly guide)

First up is a Drinker moth caterpillar.  The adult moth is a rather drab looking brown affair, while the large caterpillar is a stunning beastie. Drinker moths are so named because of the caterpillar's habit of drinking dew drops.
Drinker moth caterpillar
Close up

Lesser yellow underwing Caterpillar

Cinnabar moths are very distinctive with the gaudy red and black colouring providing a warning to potential predators that they are poisonous.
Cinnarbar moth

The first Wall brown butterfly of the year for me was a welcome sight. A common butterfly in my youth, sadly rare these days.
Wall brown

In recent days I've been delighting in several large gatherings of the green longhorn moth. Watching them dancing in the sunlight has been a real pleasure, the metallic greens and burnished bronzes only visible close up. The females have extremely long antennae (often as long as the rest of the body).
Green longhorn moth

Look at those antennae







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