Toxic

I caught these two  Six-spot Burnet moths having a beautiful close encounter on the Knapweed flowerhead which seems to be one of their firm favourites up here on the limestone hills. Easily spotted - no pun intended- because of their conspicuous colours and slow, buzzing and heavy flight. 

Toxic as the warning colours suggest they release cyanide when injured, even the larvae storing and sequestering the compound from their food, Bird's Foot Trefoil. The males convert some of their cyanogenic compounds into a pheromone  - larger the quantity emitted the more likely he is to attract a female. The females interestingly emit hydrogen cyanide as larvae which the males are attracted to. 

A morning in and out of the Opticians - and again!