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| Magpie Moth (Abraxas grossulariata) that flew off rather than let me photograph it! |
This one was a bit of a tricky customer, I expected it to sit nicely on a piece of wood for me to photograph it but instead it flew off into the hedgerow. Still I was able to follow it and get a couple of shots. The rest of my moths shots are much better!
So, here are the facts:
- They have what's actually quite a large wingspan. It can be all the way up to 45mm or 4.5cm. That's only 5mm shorter than my little finger!
- Their caterpillars are almost the same colours and patterns as the actual Moth so if you see one of them, there's going to be no confusion!
- It has a White base colour with wavy lines made out of Black spots, there is a small Yellow- Orange stripe down the middle and one in across the middle of its wings.
- Another thing about the caterpillars, their colours, White, Black Yellow and Orange, are actually made to warn of predators.
- They are only commonly found from June to August, this is one of the smallest time periods that I have seen in this blog.
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| Scuttling into the undergrowth! |
- They are found quite a lot in England but not much in Wales. Also, they aren't found in South Scotland at all, but they are found quite commonly in North Scotland. They're found in Ireland.
- They are found in Farmland, Woodland, Heathland, Upland, Towns and Gardens and Grasslands.
- Adults eat Nectar from most Flowers, caterpillars eat Blackthorn, Hawthorn, Currant and Gooseberry Bushes.
- They over-winter as caterpillars and pupate in May to June.
If you want to find out more about these colourful moths try these sites:
Hope you enjoyed,
Z.
Lovely little moth. Great find Zach! - Tasha
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