Danger! Do not eat!
It is seems to have been a good year for cinnabar moth caterpillars. They can be found in their hundreds munching away on yellow-flowered ragwort, and their bold black-and-gold stripes make them easy to identify.
They are the cinnabar caterpillar’s main food plant and ragwort supports many other insect species and is also an important source of nectar. It is toxic and known to poison horses and other livestock if eaten, particularly via contaminated hay. The toxins within the growing plant make it so bitter and unpalatable that it is usually avoided but the cinnabar caterpillars feast upon ragwort without ill effect. They benefit from its toxicity and eat enough of it to become toxic themselves with their colourful stripes a warning to predators: I’m poisonous and taste terrible, don’t try to eat me!
It takes about a month for them to develop fully, at which point they will descend to ground level ready to pupate. They will remain here all winter, safe inside their cocoons, and complete their metamorphosis the following spring to emerge as beautiful black and red adults. They are brightly coloured for the same reason as the caterpillars, since the ragwort’s toxins remain in their bodies and still provide an effective defence against predators.
I posted a shot of the adult moth about six weeks ago so just check in my photostream
Danger! Do not eat!
It is seems to have been a good year for cinnabar moth caterpillars. They can be found in their hundreds munching away on yellow-flowered ragwort, and their bold black-and-gold stripes make them easy to identify.
They are the cinnabar caterpillar’s main food plant and ragwort supports many other insect species and is also an important source of nectar. It is toxic and known to poison horses and other livestock if eaten, particularly via contaminated hay. The toxins within the growing plant make it so bitter and unpalatable that it is usually avoided but the cinnabar caterpillars feast upon ragwort without ill effect. They benefit from its toxicity and eat enough of it to become toxic themselves with their colourful stripes a warning to predators: I’m poisonous and taste terrible, don’t try to eat me!
It takes about a month for them to develop fully, at which point they will descend to ground level ready to pupate. They will remain here all winter, safe inside their cocoons, and complete their metamorphosis the following spring to emerge as beautiful black and red adults. They are brightly coloured for the same reason as the caterpillars, since the ragwort’s toxins remain in their bodies and still provide an effective defence against predators.
I posted a shot of the adult moth about six weeks ago so just check in my photostream