Oak Eggar moth larva

Spotted this little caterpillar crossing a Devon lane yesterday and admired the lovely geometric pattern on its hairy back. Waited till today to blip it as I wanted to identify it first. Thanks to the help of UK butterflies, I now know it's the larva of the oak eggar moth, Lasiocampa quercus.


Given there are over two and half thousand different moths and butterflies in the British Isles alone, it's not surprising that identifying them is sometimes tricky. In the case of this caterpillar, apparently it changes considerably in appearance during its development. Even trickier!

Next time, though, I shall think to photograph it side-on as well, AND count the number of legs. 

Another lovely sunny day today but bitterly cold. Had my hair cut and the hairdresser (who lives on quite high ground across the river in Torquay) told me she'd scraped ice of her car windscreen this morning, Brrr.