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Black caterpillars


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Just seen the wierdest thing, well I thought so. Like a nest of around 50 small black furry caterpillars with red/orange eyes...with a type of web around them forming a nest? this was on the ground within the grass, and closeby another 'nest' with same caterpillars but larger.....any idea what they are going to be?? oh and the punaise sp? (yeuk) are out again.
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I have the same. Last year I thought they were Pine Precessionary ones (although stationary and their nest was on the ground - so I nuked them and then felt guilty after I found they were not PPCs).

What is interesting (for me anyway) is that this year their nest is in exactly the same place as last year's. I wonder if there is some plant underneath it that the "go for" - otherwise in a 1ha+ field it is too much of a coincidence. actually last year I found a couple and so far this year only one and on an "old site". I will be interested to see if a few more crop up on the other "old sites".

(I Googled Melitaea cinxia and I think they are a good match - particularly as the food species Wikipedia gives is around the field but their web is too dense to see what plant it is over). I'm assuming they are not direct threat fro pets (nothing I saw suggests they are)

Ian

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[quote user="icmenuiserie"]Just seen the wierdest thing, well I thought so. Like a nest of around 50 small black furry caterpillars with red/orange eyes...with a type of web around them forming a nest? this was on the ground within the grass, and closeby another 'nest' with same caterpillars but larger.....any idea what they are going to be?? oh and the punaise sp? (yeuk) are out again.[/quote]

Are these your caterpillars?  I managed to get these a couple of weeks ago, before one of the dogs pushed me aside and stomped on them.[:(]

[IMG]http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h15/miggimeggi/IMGP0326.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h15/miggimeggi/IMGP0327.jpg[/IMG]

And what are punaise please?

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They look the same as mine. One small difference is that the "web nest" is quite dense on mine. Still definitely a "web" but it's quite dense now (but maybe I'm a few weeks later and they have been adding to it over time).

Ian

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"And what are punaise please?"  Strictly speaking True Bugs but generally used to describe Shield bugs, which are, of course, a type of True Bug.

Your photo looks like the caterpillar species I referred to, Anne, is that plantain leaves I can see?

Chris

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Yes they are the ones in the photo, and the nest thing is exactly the same sort of thing too. Thanks

Punaise are those stinky sheild bugs. I saw a letter or article in French News last year from someone saying they were studying them and could people send them to him...wasn't you chris?? Well we get thousands of them here loads of shades from browns to greens. They spray a smelly liquid at you if you disturb them. I flick them really hard a quickly out of the window, and mostly avoid getting sprayed. The smell is a bit like soap, but worse...

Lisa

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quote user="chris pp"

"And what are punaise please?"  Strictly speaking True Bugs but generally used to describe Shield bugs, which are, of course, a type of True Bug."

Oh, OK, I know those.  There are lots in Africa as well as here and we  always called them 'Stink bugs' for the reasons described by Lisa.

"Your photo looks like the caterpillar species I referred to, Anne, is that plantain leaves I can see?"

Yes, they are plantain leaves and one of the internet sites I looked at showed them as being the preferred food for Melitaea cinxia which seems to help bear out your identification. 

We do see an awful lot of fritillary butterflies around that field in summer, lovely, graceful things.  Perhaps this summer they will be a bit patient with me and pose quietly for a few pics.[:)]

 

 

 

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