A Blog for moth recorders in Bucks, Berks and Oxon
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Monday, 12 July 2021
Moth Caterpillar Query
A friend of mine dug this up in her garden. She wonders if it is a Moth Caterpillar. I cannot find anything that remotely looks like it in the Jim Porter book. I wonder if anyone here has any ideas?
Hi Tony, As you say, there are few moth larvae which look anything close to that and which might be dug up in a garden. I wonder if it might actually be a beetle larva.
On the other hand, someone else has suggested to me that one of the Catocala species might be a possibility (thanks, Laurie) and that does seem to fit with the "frill" along the lower part of the body. The larva comes across as being white in those pictures but I wonder if it is really more of a grey colour, in which case C.fraxini (Clifden Nonpareil) comes to mind. If the scale on the trowel is in inches then it is quite a large larva, which would fit.
Hi Tony,
ReplyDeleteAs you say, there are few moth larvae which look anything close to that and which might be dug up in a garden. I wonder if it might actually be a beetle larva.
On the other hand, someone else has suggested to me that one of the Catocala species might be a possibility (thanks, Laurie) and that does seem to fit with the "frill" along the lower part of the body. The larva comes across as being white in those pictures but I wonder if it is really more of a grey colour, in which case C.fraxini (Clifden Nonpareil) comes to mind. If the scale on the trowel is in inches then it is quite a large larva, which would fit.
ReplyDelete