A Strange Monster

At the allotment today, just as I began to prune the willow screen, I spotted a very strange, very brightly coloured….thing. I call it a thing because it was like nothing I had ever seen before. Part of it looked like a caterpillar, but it had two retracting antennae that looked like they belonged to a highly patterned snail. The less said about it’s head (or rear end?), I wasn’t sure which it was, the better!

I called my husband over to see if he knew what this monster was. He hadn’t got a clue. As we had no idea what it was, I took several photos and did some Googling when I got home! It turns out that this is a caterpillar of the Puss Moth, a large white/grey moth commonly found across the UK. When it feels threatened, it waves it’s two tails and head at the predator. If this warning goes unheaded, the caterpillar can squirt formic acid at the attacker! But even more interesting is their cocoon which is camouflaged to look like the bark on the tree it has chosen. Apparently it will be in its cocoon over the winter and emerges in the spring.

Puss Moth caterpillars also love to eat poplars and willow, which would explain why we found it on the willow screen! I’ll have to keep an eye on the willow as these caterpillars are renown for stripping willow before spinning its cocoon. I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens over the next few weeks! If anyone wants to read more, here’s an excellent link: https://butterfly-conservation.org/moths/puss-moth