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Caterpillars

phildigphildig "New home with a lot of gardening to do!"Posts: 52
in Wildlife gardening
Hello and thank you for reading this message.
There are some new residents in our garden this afternoon. What are these please? Maybe Cinnabar moth caterpillars? (Sorry photo upside down.)
Thank you.


Posts

  • Fishy65Fishy65 Posts: 2,266
    Hi phildig, they are indeed Cinnabar moth caterpillars on their favourite host plant ragwort. I've got some in my garden too.
  • josusa47josusa47 Posts: 3,532
    Black and orange stripes are nature's warning code for toxicity.  The cinnabar larva is one of the few creatures that can eat ragwort and live.  It is poisonous to horses, cattle etc, fatally so if they eat enough of it.  The cinnabar larvae accumulate the ragwort toxin in their bodies so they in turn are toxic to any birds ignorant enough to eat them.
  • phildigphildig "New home with a lot of gardening to do!"Posts: 52
    Thank you for your replies Fishy65 and josusa47. Good to know who's moving in!
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