natures beautiful caterpillars

I have come across some amazing and beautiful caterpillars this summer.

Featured above is the very hairy Woolley Bear Caterpillar which turns into the striking Garden Tiger Moth. Its Latin name is Arctia caja. This one I found eating some left over willow I had rooting in a bucket at my allotment. It is often found in damp locations in the wild.

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The black and yellow stripped caterpillar becomes the black and red coloured Cinnabar moth, Tyria jacobaeae. This caterpillar is known to have cannibalistic tendencies! The red cinnabar was used in artists red paint pigment in the past!

The Mullen Moths in the photo to the right are ferociously feeding on this Mullen plant, striping the plants grey felty leaves before its vertical yellow flower stalk appears. Cucullia verbasci has a distinct grey and yellow banding spotted with black marks, a warning coloration to birds to avoid eating it!