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| 6 Spot Burnet Moth Caterpillar |
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| Birdsfoot Trefoil, the food plant |
Went out this morning to further explore the top of the coal spoil heaps from the Lady Windsor mine. The grassland on top is stunning, nutrient poor and full of flowers. It was the Burnet moth cocoons that were really noticeable (
Zygaena filipendulae). I counted 40 in a single meter square! Also a lot of Burnet catapillars around but I only saw a single adult flying around. It is hardly surprising that this moth is doing so well up here as its food plant, Birdsfoot Trefoil, is everywhere. I even managed to get a picture of one of the caterpillars making a silken cocoon. They don't have it all their own way however as one of the caterpillars clearly had little red mites on it. I have seen these mites on adult common blue butterflies before, I'm not sure if they are the same species.
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| Burnet moth caterpillar making a cocoon |
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