Caterpillar WebsI took these photographs on a quiet wooded road en route from Perth to Aberfeldy.
I have come across this kind of phenomenon before at Spurn Head in Yorkshire, where a similar web is made by caterpillars of the native Brown-Tail Moth (Euproctis Chrysorrhoea). These Brown-Tail creatures have toxic barbed hairs. They emerge in spring from their white webs to feed on sea buckthorn: you can read more about them on my Land&Lit blog here.
After a bit of Googling, I alighted on the fact that the caterpillars of the Ermine Moth spin similar webs in England; but not in the 'far north', which according to the map includes Scotland. So I am left with a puzzle on my hands, and would be very grateful if anyone cares to identify the spinners of the web in the photos for me.
- Ermine Moths on the Butterfly Conservation site
- More webs on the Weaver of Grass blog
- Narnia in Southend! Silken graves - a fascinating BBC video clip, showing what these moths can do
- Tent Caterpillars
- Ghost trees - in Scotland!
2 comments:
no idea of the species that does that up here but we saw exactly the same thing in a similar location to you!
Were the trees Bird Cherries (Prunus Padus? If so, there's your answer - Bird Cherry Ermine moth. These are very 'species specific', ie only on Bird Cherry trees!
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