planting a woodland: cinnabar moth caterpillars - 2006

to see larger images, click on the text below each picture 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: 1989-1991 starting out 1996-1999 planting 2000-2003 planting 2004 good growth 2005  tulip tree 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: www.RSPB.org.uk Cinnabar moth colours:  www.haworth-village.org.uk Moving pictures of cinnabar moth caterpillars:  www.arkive.org Back to Planting a woodland Yvonne Jerrold's home page Paintings Links page Silent People Other writing