I RECENTLY spotted several of these strange caterpillars photographed by Francis Ray on a neighbour’s rose bush and made some inquiries with the aid of a close-up photograph taken by my husband.
A village moth expert Bob Smith was able to help.
He identified it as being the larva of a vapourer moth, which apparently are quite common, although I have never noticed them before.
Maybe there are more of them around this year due to favourable weather conditions.
Unfortunately their food is almost any deciduous tree or shrub – the buds and leaves on my neighbour’s rose bush had really suffered.
Although the larva are rather strange to look at, with their black furry ‘horns’ and ‘tail’, and pale yellow tufts on its back, the moth itself is a rather ordinary brown, with a white spot on each wing.
I expect Francis Ray got a good response to his query.
Jane Calvert
France Lynch
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