Hop-dog

Up just after 3 a.m. this morning, preparing for our next trip to Surrey to re-locate a population of Roman Snails. We arrived on site at 6 a.m, when it was still pretty dark (partly due to the heavy grey clouds) and really quite cold. We were somewhat quicker today, which was fortunate as the light mizzle eventually turned to steady, soaking rain, but still managed to find over 40 snails. The journey back was much less stressful than last time, despite a temporary delay on the A14 near Cambridge. This time Chris drove the last leg of the journey, which my knee appreciated!


I didn't take any photographs while we were working, but had a short studio session with this Pale Tussock caterpillar this afternoon, as it's still grey, windy and autumnal her in Peterborough. The hairy green and yellow caterpillars have a black band around each body segment, and a tuft of red-brown hair at the tail end.  The brightly coloured hairs protect them from birds, and other predators. These caterpillars were commonly known as 'hop dogs' by hop pickers who frequently found them among the crops.  They're less likely to be found in hop fields these days due to the use of pesticides.