A Drinker cat

19 Thursday Jan 2023

Tags

Drinker, Drinker moth caterpillar, hairy caterpillar, moth caterpillar, moth larva, Philudoria potatoria

It will be a few months yet before I will be seeing any of these hairy beauties but they are worth the wait. These photos show the larva of the Drinker moth (Philudoria potatoria), which can usually be found feeding on grasses and reeds, particularly in damp places. The UK moths website reports that ‘This species gets its English (and Latin) name from the habits of the caterpillar, which is supposed to have a liking for drops of dew.’

230119 drinker cat (1)

In theory, these caterpillars can be found now, as they hibernate when only partly grown, emerging in the spring to continue their development, but I imagine they are currently well hidden from hungry birds. My photos were taken last May, when these caterpillars were almost fully grown and would soon be pupating. I’ve never seen the adult moth but it is also a beautiful creature.

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The young ones

04 Thursday Aug 2016

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

caterpillar, Drinker moth caterpillar, Large rose sawfly caterpillar, moth larvae, Old lady moth caterpillar, Pale tussock moth caterpillar, Ruby tiger moth caterpillar, Vapourer moth caterpillar

Caterpillar:
Noun. Pronunciation: /ˈkatəpɪlə/
1. The larva of a butterfly or moth, which has a segmented body resembling a worm with three pairs of true legs and several pairs of leg-like appendages.
1.1. (In general use) any insect larva resembling the larvae of caterpillars and moths, especially that of the sawfly. (Oxford Dictionary)

Here are some examples I’ve spotted of these insect larvae.

These black-and-yellow striped critters are Cinnabar moth caterpillars (Tyria jacobaeae), chewing away on their favourite food plant, ragwort.

The caterpillars of the Parsnip moth (Depressaria pastinacella) build themselves little silken webs within the structure of the umbellifer flowers (in particular Wild parsnip), on which they feed.

A snapshot of a few others I’ve sighted (from left to right): Drinker moth (Philudoria potatoria), Old lady moth (Momo maura), Vapourer moth (Orgyia antiqua), sawfly larva (possibly of the Large rose sawfly, Arge pagana), Ruby tiger moth (Phragmatobia fuliginosa), and, lastly, the wild extravagance of the Pale tussock moth caterpillar (Calliteara pudibunda).