Stripy Devastation!
Cinnabar Moth caterpillars feeding on their host plant ragwort! The caterpillars are voracious feeders and will devastate their host plants. Known to be cannibalistic they can then begin eating each other!
The Cinnabar Moth (Tyria jacobaeae) was originally named after the bright red mineral ‘cinnabar’ once used by artists as a red pigment for painting.
The caterpillars feed on poisonous ragwort leaves from July – early September and are initially pale yellow but soon develop bright yellow and black stripes to deter predators. The poison from the leaves is stored in the caterpillars body (and even remains when they are an adult moth). Any predators that ignore the caterpillars bright warning colours will be repulsed by how foul they taste.
The caterpillars overwinter as pupa in a cocoon under the ground. The adult moths emerge around mid May and are on the wing up until early August, during which time males and females will mate and eggs are laid.
The Cinnabar Moth is a common species, well distributed throughout the UK and has a coastal distribution in the northern most counties of England and Scotland. Due to its toxicity to livestock ragwort is being controlled in many areas across the UK and Cinnabar Moth numbers have dropped dramatically due to the persecution of their food plant ragwort.
Stripy Devastation!
Cinnabar Moth caterpillars feeding on their host plant ragwort! The caterpillars are voracious feeders and will devastate their host plants. Known to be cannibalistic they can then begin eating each other!
The Cinnabar Moth (Tyria jacobaeae) was originally named after the bright red mineral ‘cinnabar’ once used by artists as a red pigment for painting.
The caterpillars feed on poisonous ragwort leaves from July – early September and are initially pale yellow but soon develop bright yellow and black stripes to deter predators. The poison from the leaves is stored in the caterpillars body (and even remains when they are an adult moth). Any predators that ignore the caterpillars bright warning colours will be repulsed by how foul they taste.
The caterpillars overwinter as pupa in a cocoon under the ground. The adult moths emerge around mid May and are on the wing up until early August, during which time males and females will mate and eggs are laid.
The Cinnabar Moth is a common species, well distributed throughout the UK and has a coastal distribution in the northern most counties of England and Scotland. Due to its toxicity to livestock ragwort is being controlled in many areas across the UK and Cinnabar Moth numbers have dropped dramatically due to the persecution of their food plant ragwort.