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Hi

Please can you help identify these two caterpillar species and the butterflies or moths they will become. The photos were taken in Spring.

The white caterpillars with black spots were on oak.

The hairy orange and black caterpillars were on young oak (not sure which sub species) and hawthorn (ditto). There may actually be two species of these. One appears to be on ragwort.

More pictures

Hi Craig.

The hairy ones are Brown-tail moth caterpillars - they should be treated with caution as their hairs can be an irritant.

The yellow/black ones are Cinnabar Moth caterpillars.

The spotty white ones look like a species of sawfly larvae - I can't say which one I'm afraid.

Dave

Hi Dave

Many thanks for your quick reply !

Craig

The spotty ones are one of the Ermine moths, Yponomeutidae.

bugboy wrote: ↑Mon Jul 29, 2024 7:02 pm The spotty ones are one of the Ermine moths, Yponomeutidae.

That's me told! I've been fooled by sawfly larvae in the past, so jumped straight to the wrong conclusion - sorry, Craig...

Dave

Small Wild flower area managed quite late (mid-late October 2024.

I had this area, where some overgrown long English native grass clumps were removed and or, given a haircut, to allow a bare earth light space, seed germination for other species and leave some sighted slug and or snail eggs for predation, which appeared to have been deposited under fallen over long grass, where offspring might have eaten other plants, that were not grasses, but "significant flowers".
I had an understanding that many UK butterfly species might
I realised that some larval species might lie dormant in such locations, until warmer weather, responds their feeding and or metamorphosis.
I was hoping for a caterpillar id, not the species of slug and or snail eggs. A clue was, in this location there were commonly Meadow Brown, Ringlets and Gatekeepers No sure if they were butterfly, moth or other larvae. Can I have some help please?

Kind Regards,

More help with caterpillar id please

This one appeared to be feeding on Teasel leaves, (first year biennial before flower "bolted") not sure (because of the time I wasn't given to study it) if it was a final instar, wandering Large white, prepared to eat different plant species, to extend it's range, before pupation,: Kind Regards,

Hi Phil.

From the number of "false legs" this caterpillar has (i.e. more than the five pairs butterfly caterpillars have), I'd say that this is a species of sawfly larva. I couldn't begin to guess which one, mind!

Cheers,

Dave