8 January 2013
7 January 2013 – Overwintering
This is what the caterpillars are doing – overwintering. In November they started to spin cocoons in the corners of the plastic container, one by one. A couple of others decided a leaf was more to their liking and the silken threads anchored the leaf to the bottom of the container. At first I thought they must be pupating – but, if they were, the moths that would hatch must be very small and they wouldn’t have long to pupate and hatch into their flighty selves before the winter came. I hadn’t realised the caterpillars might overwinter when they were so small. Presumably they will come out of their hibernation in Spring, resume eating and pupate accordingly. Assuming they survive. No further trapping at the moment – the odd December moth comes to the window but hardly a glimpse of moth-life in the headlights. We overwinter as well. Happy New Tercentenary Year.
Recent Moths
- Rise of the AI Naturalist
- Best Moths for a Haunted Abbey
- The Real and Fake Deaths of Moths
- The Colonizers of Yorkshire
- Glamour in the Dark: Two Newcomers Arrive at Shandy Hall
- 25 July 2023 – Collective Noun for Hawkmoths
- MOTH LIST to August 2023 with links
- 28 July 2023 – TRIPLE New Species Alert!
- 18 July 2023 – A Golden…Plusia!
- 13 July 2023 – Arts and Sciences
- 10 July 2023 – Rise of the Yellow Underwings
- 4 July 2023 – Cold-weather Catch