Pleach

By Pleach

A common moth in coastal regions now is the black and red Burnet moth.  It lays its eggs on the caterpillars’ foodplants and after hatching and feeding. the caterpillars hibernate over winter before emerging the following spring. After getting bigger they create a cocoon which is normally attached to a tall stem of grass although there were several attached to the fence beside the path.  The cocoon dries out while the caterpillar inside becomes a pupa before transforming into a moth and emerging in June or July, leaving the empty cocoon behind.  The collage shows two cocoons which appear to have pupae inside and a new moth emerging from its empty cocoon.
The extra shows a hole with the remains of a wasp’s nest and hexagonal shaped comb.   I think they are wasps and not bees, but I did not want to stay and investigate further as there were a lot flying around, hence the poor photo.  Perhaps a badger disturbed them.
There is also an Elephant Hawkmoth caterpillar which obviously felt threatened and had retracted its head making its body look fatter and eye spots more prominent.

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