Cat ID

[Steve W]

Whilst looking on Alder Buckthhorn for Brimstone caterpillars I found several of these. Can anyone help identify?
thanks
Steve

[Denise]

That looks like a Vapourer to me.
see :- http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=1478

[Steve W]

Thanks, that looks like it - strange looking things. The picture in my book wasn't anywhere near as clear.
On closer inspection this is on the pot the tree is sitting in which looks like the female's cocoon, I think.

Should I still be able to find the female or will she be gone now?

thanks
Steve

[Pete Eeles]

The female will have died after laying her eggs last year.

The old pupal case should still be inside the cocoon though!

Cheers,

- Pete

[Steve W]

So how does the female get there in the first place?
Also if any of these larvae develop into females they will stay roughly in the same area?

Steve

[JKT]

She climbed there as a caterpillar.

As to the area ... I believe they will fly around as small caterpillars - fly as in "Gone with the wind".

[Lee Hurrell]

So are they one of the caterpillars you see hanging from threads of silk when walking through woodlands? Or are those even moths?

I normally get covered in them!

Thanks

Lee

[JKT]

I think those are something else, but still probably moths - possibly Geometridae caterpillars.

I'm told that these release the silk thread to the wind and then let go. They have no way to control where they land and so it is quite useful to be able to eat almost anything as these are.

[Lee Hurrell]

Thanks JKT!
Cheers
Lee

[Dave McCormick]

So how does the female get there in the first place?
Also if any of these larvae develop into females they will stay roughly in the same area?

Steve

The caterpillar creates the cocoon and pupates inside it, if female, when she hatches out, the female just sits and waits for a male to arrive, she will still be in the cocoon, once mated, she lays eggs on the cocoon and dies (sometimes falls to the ground). Females are wingless and look really different than males and being wingless can't do much else than wait for a male which can fly, mate, lay eggs and die in a short time.