The Wildlife of
Holy Island

 
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Caterpillars - The Cinnabar Moth Caterpillar

First seen on Thursday 16th July 2020 at Holy Island

The Cinnabar Moth Caterpillar is one of the few that I've seen as both a caterpillar and a moth. It feeds on Ragwort (as shown in these photos). The caterpillar has very different colours to the red and black moth. Yellow and black in the insect world normally signifies danger - Ragwort is poisonous, and the poison from the leaves is stored in the caterpillar's body (and even remains when they are an adult moth). They will have a foul taste if a bird eats it, although a cuckoo can eat them without a problem! (so they do...)