planting a woodland: cinnabar moth caterpillars - 2006


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2006 Entrance
                          May
May 2006
entrance gate



May 2006 view out
from entrance



May 2006
the hazel copse



May 2006
hedge on east side


May 2006
the tulip tree


May 2006
the cherries


May 2006
view southwards


May 2006
view northwards


July 2006
a clump of  purple
rosebay willowherb

July 2006
some young
holm oaks


July 2006
a cinnabar moth
caterpillar


July 2006
cinnabars feeding
on ragwort





click below for more pictures:
1989-2003 starting out
2004-2005 good growth
2007 a busy year
2008-2009
2010
2011-2012
2013-2014-2015
2016-2017-2018
2019-2020

Cinnabar moth caterpillars

In July 2006 we released 1,600 cinnabar moth caterpillars into the field with the aim of establishing a permanent colony to help to control ragwort.  We did this, according to instructions, by releasing them in a triangle at one end of the field which has been shown to increase their chances of survival.  But, before releasing them, we were pleased to find there were some cinnabar moth caterpillars already in the field. We do not know if these were survivors from our previous release of 500 caterpillars a few years earlier, or if they had come in from the wild. We think the latter is unlikely, as weedkillers and pesticides are commonly used in the surrounding fields and verges. We use neither in our field.

For information and more pictures of the cinnabar moth go to the links below:

Cinnabar moth colours:  www.haworth-village.org.uk
Moving pictures of cinnabar moth caterpillars:  www.arkive.org

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