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Identify please

GwenrGwenr Posts: 150
in Wildlife gardening
Can anyone identify this caterpillar please, they invaded our garden last year and are back in force again this year. They love my Stocks but their favourite is the Russian Sage, which the bees are crazy about. I've tried to identify in my books, but can't find a good match.

Posts

  • GwenrGwenr Posts: 150
    edited October 2021
    Looks like a monster.
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,391
    It looks a bit like The caterpillar of the Toadflax Brocade moth (Calophasia lunula) to me:



    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,060
    How big,  looks a bit like Mullein Moth but depends on the size, hopefully whatever he is will emerge as something beautiful,  if only to feed the bats at night.
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,130
    BobTheGardener said:
    It looks a bit like The caterpillar of the Toadflax Brocade moth (Calophasia lunula) to me:



    I let plenty of toadflax grow in my garden and this time of year most of them are getting severely munched by loads of these.
    I often wondered what they were called - thanks Bob!

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • GwenrGwenr Posts: 150
    edited October 2021
    BobTheGardener said:
    It looks a bit like The caterpillar of the Toadflax Brocade moth (Calophasia lunula) to me:



    Spot on, I looked at other images and it is exactly the same, thank you. The moth certainly is big and I have found them of a night sitting on our garden gate. Also having read up on the plants they love, we realise that our Russian Sage, is actually Toad Flax and we have loads of the stuff growing in the garden, but the bees love it so they will have to share, you live and learn. I wonder if this is one of the endangered moths, I will have to read up a bit more.
  • B3B3 Posts: 26,987
    edited October 2021
    Re toadflax brocade moth: if you chop the affected plant and bung it itn the compost heap complete with moths, will the moths be ok?
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,490
    Uf you don't smother them and they have means of exit when they're ready.  Just a guess tho.
  • B3B3 Posts: 26,987
    They seem happy enough to strip one plant bare and leave an adjacent plant untouched so I've assumed they'd manage.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
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