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The large, beautiful caterpillar larvae of the elephant hawk moth has two pairs of eye markings, which are made even more prominent when it withdraws its head into its body. They are, typically, a blackish-brown colour but are sometimes green

The mature stage of certain caterpillars.

remains open all night without complaint from the females in the house. And with the window open we get visitors. This morning it was a brimstone moth, Opisthograptis luteolata, decorating the white wall tiles. Although this is an extremely common moth

The Friday before last was hot and humid, and as the sun fell the evening crept in sultry and still. Sitting in the kitchen I was aware that there was an inordinate number of moths fluttering about outside. This wasn't much of a surprise, the last

Virtually wingless, female winter moths hatch in November, then crawl up fruit trees to mate with male moths. The eggs that are laid hatch into leaf-eating caterpillars in spring. Trap female moths before they climb to mate, by attaching a grease

quickly rush to the spot armed with a Petri dish.A paint kettle has been upended over the bug of weird redness in question. Carefully lifting it off, I am met with a ruby tiger moth — lovely.Ruby tiger moth (Phragmatobia fuliginosa) is a common insect

We are now positively awash with Jersey Tiger moths, Euplagia quadripunctaria. Named for its abundance on one particular of the Channel Islands, it had been well established in South Devon and apparently spreading along the coast into Dorset

When the children first found the caterpillar, they were fascinated and asked me what sort of moth it might turn into. They were amazed when I told them that instead of a moth, it would turn into a sawfly the size of a hornet. Some of the parents

On Saturday I turned over a rose leaf that appeared to be stuck up with a mass of silky threads to reveal a bizarre furry blob - the wingless female of the vapourer moth, Orgyia antiqua. Well, she's not completely wingless, she has tiny vestigial

As a rule, I only grow plants that will benefit bees, moths and other pollinators. I do relax this rule, though, by growing auriculas. I do this for my partner, who loves them (even if bees don’t).We have built up quite a collection over the years