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Tag Archives: Lackey

Small and hairy

09 Monday May 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

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Tags

British moths, caterpillars in a web, Lackey, Lackey caterpillars, Lackey larvae, Malacosoma neustria, moth caterpillars, moth larvae

In Saturday’s post we had the small and scary (if you don’t like spiders – personally, I thought they were adorable); today we have the small and hairy, a web of Lackey moth caterpillars (Malacosoma neustria), which can often be found at this time of year, their web wrapped around the twigs of various broadleaved trees and shrubs.

220509 lackey (1)

The early instar (youngest) larvae don’t show the blue side stripe or ghoulish face, which make these larvae so distinctive as they grow.

220509 lackey (2)

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Moths of Kenfig

11 Sunday Jun 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Beautiful china-mark, British moths, Burnet, Cinnabar, Grass rivulet, Kenfig National Nature Reserve, Lackey, moth, moths, Oak eggar, Small china-mark, Straw dot, Yellow-tail

As the butterflies are still enjoying their summer holidays, I have some moths and soon-to-be moths for you. These were all seen at Wales’s stunning coastal national nature reserve at Kenfig last weekend.

170611 Beautiful china-mark
170611 Burnet
170611 Cinnabar

We have, from left:
Beautiful china-mark (Nymphula nitidulata): It was no surprise to find this near Kenfig pool as its larvae are aquatic.
Burnet: (Zygaena sp.): Not sure which of the Burnet moths this will become as the only difference in the caterpillars is the length of their hairs and I didn’t measure these.
Cinnabar (Tyria jacobaeae): The ‘Jacobaeae’ epithet comes from its larval foodplant, Senecio jacobaea, aka Common ragwort.

170611 Grass rivulet
170611 Lackey
170611 Oak eggar

Grass rivulet (Perizoma albulata): As well as loving grasslands, these little beauties also love a nice sandy beach.
Lackey (Malacosoma neustria): We’ve had these before if you remember (Lackey me).
Oak eggar (Lasiocampa quercus): Don’t go searching around oak trees for this one: its name comes from the acorn-like shape of its cocoon.

170611 Small China-mark
170611 Straw dot
170611 Yellow-tail

Small china-mark (Cataclysta lemnata): Apparently, they don’t often open their wings to show the underwing markings. I got lucky!
Straw dot (Rivula sericealis): Straw coloured with a dot on each wing. I think I might actually remember this one.
Yellow-tail (Euproctis similis): I have yet to see the moth but it seems the female has a yellow tuft of hairs on her bottom.

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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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