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Tag Archives: Malacosoma neustria

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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Lackey me!

29 Saturday Apr 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

British moth, caterpillar, Lackey caterpillars, Malacosoma neustria, moth, moth caterpillar web, The Lackey

To the arachnophobes out there, I just want to reassure you that not all webs are made by spiders. Some are home to really cute caterpillars like these that I was lucky enough to spot on a recent walk.

170429 Lackey moth Malacosoma neustria caterpillars (3)

Native to central Europe and southern Britain, these are Lackey moth (Malacosoma neustria) caterpillars, pretty little blue-and-orange-and-white-striped crawlies that live happily together in a silken web they’ve spun for themselves amongst the blackthorn, hawthorn and other trees and shrubs that are their food plants. They began life as eggs that were laid towards the end of last summer but didn’t hatch until this spring, meaning these little creatures will have spent around half their lives as eggs. In a few weeks, when they’re munched their way through plenty of leaves and moulted a few times, these caterpillars will drop to the ground and pupate. Once the summer comes, they’ll hatch and the adult moths will be seen flying in and around these hedgerows during July and August – something to look forward to, though the moth is a little drab in comparison to its offspring.

170429 Lackey moth Malacosoma neustria caterpillars (1)
170429 Lackey moth Malacosoma neustria caterpillars (2)

p.s. I cannot take the credit for today’s catchy title. I pinched it from my friend Mark, who used it to comment on another friend’s Lackey web find on Facebook.

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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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