The Cinnabar Moth

Tyria jacobaeae

This is the striking caterpillar of a very beautiful creature, the cinnabar moth. Colour wise, they could not be more different. The moth is a gloriously bold red and black. It gets its name from the red mineral, Cinnabar, an ore of the metal Mercury.

The caterpillar is most commonly seen, as it is here, on ragwort. It is poisonous, but only after it has fed on the ragwort.