The Wormwood

This morning Chris and I went out to survey a field in Kings Cliffe, a large and vibrant village just over the border in Northamptonshire, surrounded by a mix of grazed pastures, small streams and extensive woodlands. There's a big commitment to sustainable development in the village, and Transition King's Cliffe has groups working on Transport, Food and Wild Places. The extra photograph shows the very successful mini-allotments. I love the ingenuity of the various constructions and the feeling of bountiful productivity, a testament to the hard work of the local community.

This would probably have been my main blip if Pete hadn't shown me this caterpillar of The Wormwood moth that he'd brought back from Kent yesterday. I was taken aback by the amazing similarity between the pattern of the caterpillar and the flowers of the Mugwort that it feeds on - a truly remarkable example of insect camouflage.