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~ a celebration of nature

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Tag Archives: Angle shades caterpillar

Colin the chrysalis

21 Monday Feb 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

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Tags

Angle shades caterpillar, Angle shades moth, Angle shades pupa, British moths, moth chrysalis, moth pupa

For various reasons (illness – mine, not his, and this run of stormy weather) I was not able to return Colin the caterpillar to the area where I think he must have been living before he hitched a ride home with me. So, I’ve been keeping him in a jar on my desk, where he’s munched happily on a diet of cabbage and Alexanders leaves. For the past 24 hours, I’ve been a bit worried as he’d stopped eating but this morning I discovered why – he’s pupated!

220221 colin the chrysalis

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Colin’s story

03 Thursday Feb 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

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Tags

Angle shades caterpillar, Angle shades larva, Angle shades moth, moth caterpillar, moth larva

I thought I would explain about Colin the caterpillar (<click to see yesterday’s video). He appeared on my living room carpet about a week ago (I almost stood on him!) and I can only assume he somehow hitched a ride home on some part of my clothing or my backpack. Like the Winter caterpillars I blogged about on 15 January, Colin is an Angle shades moth larva. At the moment, he’s living in a jar on my desk – I wasn’t sure how long he’d been on the carpet so wanted to feed him up before I took him back to the wild. He’s just been through a moult, from 2nd to 3rd instar I think, so he’ll need to be released soon so he can pupate in more natural surroundings.

220203 colin (1)
220203 colin (2)
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Colin the caterpillar

02 Wednesday Feb 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

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Tags

Angle shades, Angle shades caterpillar, Angle shades larva, caterpillar eating, moth caterpillar

Is there anything more relaxing than watching a caterpillar eating?

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Winter caterpillars

15 Saturday Jan 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects, winter

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Tags

Angle shades caterpillar, Angle shades larvae, moth caterpillars, moth larvae, moth larvae in winter, Phlogophora meticulosa

These were a surprise on a chilly and very foggy early morning walk earlier this week.

220115 caterpillar (1)
220115 caterpillar (2)
220115 caterpillar (3)
220115 caterpillar (4)

I suppose I should have realised that some caterpillars overwinter as larvae but I was still amazed to find all but one of these four sitting in plain sight, fully exposed to the weather, covered in dew drops. I’m reliably informed these are the larvae of the Angle shades moth (Phlogophora meticulosa).

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61/365 From food to frass

02 Saturday Mar 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature, plants, wildflowers

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Tags

#365DaysWild, Alexanders, Angle shades caterpillar, Angle shades larvae, Angle shades moth, British moths, British wildflowers, Phlogophora meticulosa

First I noticed the frass (that’s pooh, to most of us). Then I thought ‘Something fairly big must be in these Alexanders’ flower heads somewhere’. And, sure enough, with a little gentle pulling aside of leaves and flowers, I found the frass creator, very well camouflaged by its light green colouring. And then I thought, ‘There might be more’. And, sure enough, I found three caterpillars on three different plants, and frass on several more plants. These are the larvae of the Angle Shades moth (Phlogophora meticulosa). I thought it seemed rather early for them but my local Butterfly Conservation expert George tells me you can find them pretty much any time of year. 

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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