The beholder's eye

By uniqueandlovely

Cinnabar moth

I was a bit surprised to find this Cinnabar moth in my moth trap at 4am this morning, as I always thought it was a day flying moth. Having Googled it, I discover I was wrong (though I have only ever seen them in the daytime), and it flies both by night and by day!
I have always loved these moths, as all the stages are so colourful! From the yellow and black cattapillas, feeding on the forbidden ragwort, so coloured to advertise the fact they are foul to the taste and toxic! To the black and red moth, equally toxic and named after the common ore of the toxic, liquid metal mercury HgS Mercury (ll) sulphide. With such a pedigree, it feels both dangerous and forbidden, a winning combination!
I was pleased to catch it as it is another new species for the garden!

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