Drinker

A search for Brown Hairstreak butterfly eggs on hedgerows at BBOWT's Lapland Farm reserve in Bucks today produced plenty of the targets as well as a couple of Blue-bordered Carpet eggs and this early-instar Drinker caterpillar (apologies for the low-quality camera-phone image).  Drinkers are grass feeders but their larvae climb out onto adjacent scrub to hibernate, spending the winter clinging to vegetation, as this one is doing on a blackthorn stem.  Oak Eggar larvae are very occasionally found over-wintering on blackthorn too but at least in their case it is also the caterpillar's food-plant.

Drinker caterpillar, Lapland Farm 8th February

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks