Oleander Hawk-moth Caterpillar

Back from a short trip to Frejus in the South of France, where I came across this magnificent caterpillar in the garden. Oleander Hawk-moth (Daphnis nerii) caterpillars start out green, then morph to this orange/black form, before pupating, then turning into a particularly spectacular hawk moth. There is a ton of Oleander (Laurier Rose) in the garden and this was disturbed by pruning. The leaves of Oleander are poisonous, but these caterpillars can consume it okay. Adult Oleander Hawk-moths are rare Autumn vagrants to the UK and the larvae are not recorded here. The French name for the moth is Le Sphinx du Laurier-rose.

Knot Grass Caterpillar

This brightly coloured hairy caterpillar was munching some plantain at the allotment. It’s a the caterpillar of a Knot Grass moth (Acronicta rumicis), a grassland species which I have caught in the garden.

Cinnabar Moth Caterpillars

These stripey Cinnabar Moth caterpillars were on a Ragwort by the roadside just near my house. The moths are a bold red & black colour, but the caterpillars, which are often found like here in large groups, come in yellow & black stripes.

Ragwort contains toxic alkaloids which are unappetising (and in high doses even potentially dangerous) to grazing animals, however the moth caterpillars are able to sequester these toxins which affords them protection from insectivores. Black ants were also present, which are often associated with aphids, a few of which were also present. The ants can attack the caterpillars, presumably when they are small, to protect the plant for the aphids, which they then farm.

Apple Ermine Moths

When you catch the adults in the moth trap there are a few species of Ermine Moth that are virtually indistinguishable from each other, but you can reliably tell the species apart by the host for their caterpillars. One of my Apple trees has a few tents/cocoons of these Apple Ermine Moth caterpillars (Yponomeuta malinellus). There are not too many of them and apparently they are relatively harmless to the tree or the fruit, so I’m happy to leave the caterpillars undisturbed.

Hairy Green Caterpillar

This funny-looking green caterpillar dropped out of the willow tree and landed on one of the kids. I believe it is the caterpillar of a Pale Tussock moth (Calliteara pudibunda), but motionless and scrunched up it looks more like a prickly plant seed of some sort.

#740 Pale Tussock Moth caterpillar (Calliteara pudibunda)

Grey Dagger Caterpillar

My sharp-eyed youngest son spotted this colourful caterpillar in the corkscrew willow tree. It is the caterpillar of the Grey Dagger moth (Acronicta psi, #611). I’ve caught adults in the moth trap, which are virtually indistinguishable from the rarer Dark Dagger moth, but the caterpillars of the two species are quite different. Grey Dagger caterpillars are found on a variety of deciduous trees, such as Oak, Birch, Hawthorn, Elm and seemingly Willow too.

#611 Grey Dagger (Acronicta psi) caterpillar

Hairy Caterpillar

This hairy little guy had crawled in under the sill of the front door, presumably looking for a warm dry place to pass the winter. I reckon it’s a the caterpillar of Ruby Tiger Moth (Phragmatobia fuliginosa) rather than that of an Ermine Moth, based on the lack of visible pale stripes and the dark colouration with tufts of paler hairs. I relocated him to a safer spot, so hopefully he makes it through the winter.

#546 Ruby Tiger Moth (Phragmatobia fuliginosa) caterpillar

The Vapourer (Orgyia antiqua, #516)

I found this funky-looking caterpillar yesterday morning. It is from The Vapourer aka the Rusty Tussock Moth (Orgyia antiqua). The caterpillar looks a bit scary with its long hairs and red & yellow spots, but actually the hairs on this species are not irritating (to people at least). They are usually in birch or hazel trees, or other deciduous shrubs, but this one was in one of the flower beds. The moth is fairly dull,;chocolate brown with a white spot on each wing, but interesting in that, like the Winter Moth, the female is flightless.

Cutworm - Moth larva

After last week’s Vine Weevil, here’s another one from the rogues gallery of horrendous garden pests; a cutworm, so-called because of the way they nip off seedlings at ground level. These are moth caterpillars that live in the ground, coming out at night to voraciously munch their way around the garden. There are several species of noctuid moth that have ground-living larvae. This one might be from the Turnip Moth (Agrotis segetum), which has a particular reputation as an vegetable-growers nightmare; however due to the lack of features it’s hard to say. Not a very pretty thing either, but certainly looking well fed.