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fuzzy face

...six spot burnet moth hanging out beside the Leeds - Liverpool canal at Leigh

 

Six-Spot Burnet - Zygaena filipendulae

Wingspan 30-38 mm.

 

This is the commonest of Britain's day-flying Burnet moths, and is found throughout Britain, with a coastal bias in the North.

 

Occupying meadows, woodland clearings and sea-cliffs, it flies from June to August.

The larvae feed mainly on bird's-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus).

 

Burnet moths, unlike most others, come out in the daytime. Most are safe from attack by hungry birds because they taste horrible and are slightly poisonous - a fact that they advertise with their bright red or yellow wing spots.

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Uploaded on July 18, 2010
Taken on July 8, 2010