Monday 4 August 2014

New moth species - Cinnabar

I have a mixed view on Ragwort. On the one hand I appreciate its attractiveness to insects but I am also wary particularly if I am going to have contractors in to make hay or haylage, something I am considering just at the moment. I tend to pull it before it seeds, particularly in the fields themselves. Anyway I had a couple of plants on the parking area in front of the house and I decided to pull them as they are about to seed. I pulled one and then as I discarded it on the compost heap I noticed there were a couple of caterpillars which of course turned out to be larvae of the Cinnabar moth which relies on Ragwort. I quickly chnaged plans and translocated the caterpillars to the other Ragwort where they are happily feeding away. Anyway that is a new moth species - whcih seems to be the motif at the moment.

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