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| White Ermine Moth (larva) |
A walk in the quarry and Nancy Campbell's phone proved to be handy when this black bundle of energy charged across the grass pathway in front of us. First thought was that it was a woolly bear, the larva of the Garden Tiger Moth, but it really wasn't hairy enough and the orange line down the centre of the creature's back indicated a different species. We left it to its own devices but I wished a clearer image had been taken.
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| White Ermine Moth (larva) |
A second example, later the same afternoon, was a little less frantic in its wish to find either more food or a suitable place to weave a cocoon. The orange stripe running down the larva's back can be seen quite clearly and this seems to be the identifying feature. During late Spring the trap attracts hundreds of White Ermines and they are always evoke a positive response from those who have not seen them before. Gentle moths that are not easy to remove from the trap as they tend to just drop and remain as if dead. The quarry must be alive with caterpillars at the moment but still not often seen.
