Pale tussock

Just 1 week after we lost our Bladey cat Angelina Ballerina pusskin catkin lost all use of her back legs and had to be put to sleep - we are so sad to loose both these sisters so close to each other :-( 
The Pale tussock Calliteara pudibunda is a fairly common moth that I only see in my moth trap very occasionally. It is quite substantial (wingspan 40-60mm) with the plainer females slightly larger. IT can be better marked and paler than this specimen, but a lot of the southern moths are darker and less well marked like this one. The moth sits in a very distinctive manner with it's long hairy front legs stretched out in the front of it.
The yellow and black larva sometimes called a 'Hop dog' because of it's liking for hops is distinctive, and often encountered in the autumn, wandering on pathways searching for a place to pupate.