Sunday 17 May 2009

Caterpillars, moths and butterflies



Actually, one butterfly - an orange tip, on the charlock in the vegetable garden, - and the caterpillars of 2 moths, the hairy one wandering in the greenhouse, the other sliding down the side of the plastic trug.
May is the month when some caterpillars emerge from hibernation, ready to eat their way to a suitable size for pupating. As neither has had time to hatch from eggs and grow to this size, both have presumably overwintered. A short spell with the Oxford Book of Insects should mean we can guess which moths they will turn into, assuming the voracious blackbird and blue tits in the garden, haven't already eaten them.

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