Tuesday 28 July 2009

The Very Happy Caterpillar


First he was a little shy and unsure of himself

After a good heart to heart, I saw his walls begin to crack

All he wanted was some love

And a hug!

Seriously now, if anyone knows its ID I would be eternally grateful. I’ve searched on many websites trying to find out what type it is. It’s a hefty guy as you can see from the below photo, and I have found photos on websites… Only they never had ID’s on them! Highly frustrating.



Then yesterday I found this Lady running around:

At first I thought it was a Pine Ladybird

But after checking on the good old internet, I discovered it’s actually a Kidney Spot Ladybird





7 comments:

Cheryl said...

Hi Liz....such a cute post.....and skilled photography.....

What plant was it on?? I have just had a quick look through my butterfly and moth book and have found some that are similar but not identical.......

Whatever it is I would be more than happy.......

Liz said...

Whoops, I meant to mention, it was on a Willow!

I wonder if it only has the cute wig and eyes because it's on a different inster to that normally photographed?

It's a big boy, like that of a Hawk Moth, just without the little tail that they have!

Joe said...

Hi,

Wow, such great photos of the caterpillar. They can be surprisingly hard to spot in the garden, despite their bright colours.

Liz said...

Joe - Thanks :)

I was actually hunting for blackberries on our back hedge - growing amongst the Willows and saw this huge beastie. I believe my reaction was something along the lines of 'Jesus, Pete look at the size of this beast!'

It was very close to my face as I was literally in amongst the willows and having to push them back to get to the brambles.

Cheryl said...

Hi Liz.....we are on the same wave length here....I thought some sort of hawk moth....I am going to have a good browse through my RSPB wildlife book....if I find that little beauty I will let you know what it is......

Emma said...

never seen him before!! he is a cracker though!! make a lovely snack for some bird!

Tricia Ryder said...

Lovely pictures and narrative Liz; he's a great wee beastie indeed!